The Canadian stock market staged a sharp recovery on Wednesday as largely strong corporate earnings and better-than-expected U.S. services and private employment data reignited risk appetite, helping investors regain some confidence after Tuesday’s steep losses. The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed by 326 points, or 1.1%, to settle at 30,103 — marking a strong turnaround.
While all key market sectors closed the session in the green, the TSX rally was mainly led by solid gains in healthcare, mining, consumer staples, and technology stocks.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
ATS (TSX:ATS) was the top-performing TSX stock for the day, as it surged by over 10% to $41.69 per share. The rally followed the Cambridge, Ontario-based automation firm’s upbeat second-quarter results, reflecting a 19% year-over-year revenue jump to $728.5 million. During the quarter, its adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) climbed 32.4% to $103.7 million.
Notably, ATS posted a net profit of $33.6 million, compared to a loss in the year-ago period, as it benefited from strong organic growth and improved operating margins. This sharp rally in ATS stock reflected investor optimism around the company’s robust execution and rising order backlog.
IAMGOLD, Kelt Exploration, and Kinross Gold were also among the top gainers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with each rising by at least 7.3%.
In contrast, shares of Cargojet (TSX:CJT) dived by nearly 14% to $69.16 per share, making it the day’s worst-performing TSX stock. The sharp decline followed the release of its third-quarter results, which showed nearly an 11% year-over-year drop in total revenue to $219.9 million, mainly due to weak performance in its international charter and ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance) services segments.
As a result, Cargojet’s net quarterly profit tumbled 70% from a year ago to $8.8 million. Despite a healthy domestic revenue rise and a strong free cash flow of $152.4 million, a steep decline in its earnings amid macroeconomic headwinds triggered the selloff in CJT stock.
SSR Mining, First Majestic Silver, and Maple Leaf Foods were also among the biggest losers, with each plunging by at least 5.2%.
Based on their daily trade volume, B2Gold, Suncor Energy, Enbridge, Telus, and Manulife Financial were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Metals prices across the board were bullish in early trading on Thursday, pointing to a possible continuation of the resource-heavy TSX’s rebound as investor sentiment improves.
In addition to the domestic purchasing managers’ index data, Canadian investors will closely watch more corporate earnings reports from both sides of the border.
Many key TSX-listed companies, including ARC Resources, Fairfax Financial, Exchange Income, NFI Group, Pembina Pipeline, IGM Financial, Definity Financial, Saputo, TransAlta, Canadian Tire, Canadian Natural Resources, TC Energy, BCE, Bombardier, and Brookfield Business Partners, will release their results today.
Market movers on the TSX today
