Following a day of pause, the ongoing rally in the Canadian stock market resumed on Thursday as a sharp increase in crude oil prices and speculation around an earlier-than-expected interest rate cut by central banks lifted investor sentiment. The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed by 243 points, or 0.8%, to settle at 32,379 — not far from its all-time high posted earlier this week.
Nearly all key market sectors ended the session in the green, with industrials, energy, real estate, and consumer cyclical stocks leading the TSX rally. Gains were also supported by easing bond yields and rising optimism around global economic growth prospects, while traders remained focused on upcoming labour market data for further rate direction.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Cargojet, 5N Plus, and Baytex Energy were the top gainers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with each climbing by at least 7%.
Shares of MDA Space (TSX:MDA) jumped 6.6% to $28.92 apiece, making it among the top-performing TSX stocks for the day. This rally in MDA stock came after the Toronto-based space tech firm announced it was selected by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency for its SHIELD program. The award is structured as an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract, allowing MDA to bid on future task orders tied to a wide-ranging U.S. defence initiative.
While no contract value was disclosed, the deal positions MDA to participate in long-term defence and security work across land, sea, air, and space domains. Investors appeared encouraged by the strategic importance of the program and the potential for follow-on revenue opportunities, which helped lift MDA stock sharply higher.
In contrast, Celestica, NGEx Minerals, Discovery Silver, and Vizsla Silver plunged by more than 4% each, making them the day’s worst-performing TSX stocks.
Based on their daily trade volume, Canadian Natural Resources, Baytex Energy, Cenovus Energy, TD Bank, and Manulife Financial were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Commodity prices across the board were mixed in early trading on Friday, pointing to a flat open for the resource-heavy main TSX index today.
In addition to the domestic unemployment rate and employment change data, Canadian investors will also closely monitor the U.S. labour market figures this morning, which could give further direction to equities.
The Canadian fashion retailer Aritzia (TSX:ATZ) announced its upbeat quarterly results after the market closing bell on Thursday. Solid demand for its products helped the company post strong double-digit year-over-year gains in revenue as well as earnings for the November quarter. Given that, shares of Aritzia could see upward momentum at the open, as investors digest the company’s better-than-expected financial results.
Market movers on the TSX today
