Canadian equities trended lower for the second consecutive session on Monday as falling commodity prices and speculation about the timing of future interest rate cuts continued to weigh on investor sentiment. The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell by another 141 points, or 0.5%, to settle at 31,170, but still held close to all-time highs.
Even as select financial stocks inched up, heavy losses in most other key market sectors, including healthcare, mining, and real estate, pressured the TSX benchmark, reflecting a broad-based pullback as investors grew more cautious ahead of central bank announcements.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Curaleaf Holdings, Parex Resources, First Majestic Silver, and Ivanhoe Mines were the worst-performing TSX stocks for the day, with each diving by at least 4.4%.
Despite the broader market weakness, shares of Transcontinental (TSX:TCL.A) popped by nearly 19% to $23.66 per share, making it the day’s top-performing TSX stock. The rally came after the Montreal-based company said it would sell its entire packaging division to ProAmpac for around $2.1 billion.
As part of the deal, Transcontinental expects to return approximately $20 per share to shareholders through a special cash distribution. The company expects the transaction to help it unlock value and sharpen its focus on retail services, printing, and educational publishing. Investors appeared to welcome the news, likely drawn by the sizable shareholder payout and streamlined future growth strategy. On a year-to-date basis, Transcontinental stock is now up around 35%.
Celestica, Fairfax Financial, and Aecon Group also climbed at least 3.8% each, making them among the session’s top gainers on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Based on their daily trade volume, Canadian Natural Resources, Suncor Energy, Cenovus Energy, Telus, and Enbridge were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Commodity prices were mixed in early trading on Tuesday, setting the stage for a potentially flat open on the TSX today.
While no major domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors may want to keep a close eye on the latest JOLTS job openings data from the United States this morning.
The figures could provide fresh clues about the strength of the U.S. labour market and help shape expectations around the Federal Reserve’s next policy move, ahead of Wednesday’s interest rate decision and policy statement.
On the corporate events front, the TSX-listed North West Company will release its latest quarterly earnings report after the market closing bell. Bay Street analysts expect the food retailer to post earnings of $0.84 per share for the October quarter with $637.4 million in revenue.
Market movers on the TSX today
