The Canadian stock market went sideways on Tuesday but continued to reach new heights for the third consecutive session, as investors reacted to largely positive corporate earnings while watching geopolitical developments. The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended the volatile session with a small 18-point gain at 36,476, registering a new all-time high.
While technology stocks fell sharply and weaker gold and silver prices also pressured mining shares, a rally in most other key market sectors, including utilities, industrials, and energy, helped the TSX benchmark remain in positive territory.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Shares of Cargojet (TSX:CJT) jumped by nearly 9% to $93.67 each, making it the top-performing TSX stock for the day. This rally came a day after the Mississauga-headquartered air cargo services firm reported a 15.8% year-over-year (YoY) rise in second-quarter revenue.
Cargojet’s net earnings in the latest quarter improved to $7 million from a $3.2 million loss a year ago, with the help of stronger revenue and lower net finance costs. These stronger earnings helped fuel buying in CJT stock.
Sprott, Air Canada (TSX:AC), and Curaleaf also climbed by at least 5.5% each, making them among the day’s top gainers on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The gains in Air Canada stock followed the airline reporting record second-quarter operating revenue of $6.3 billion, up 11% YoY on strong network demand. Even as its fuel expense jumped 49% from a year ago, Canada’s largest passenger airline also generated $651 million in operating cash flow and $174 million in free cash flow during the quarter.
In contrast, RB Global, Open Text, Kinaxis, and Altus were the session’s worst-performing TSX stocks, with each slipping by at least 2.7%.
Based on their daily trade volume, Enbridge, Manulife Financial, Suncor Energy, Canadian Natural Resources, and Telus were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Commodity prices across the board trended higher in early trading on Wednesday, which could lift the resource-heavy TSX index at the open today.
Although no major domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors will closely monitor the monthly U.S. consumer inflation report this morning, which could influence expectations for the Federal Reserve’s next policy moves and set the tone for global markets.
Geopolitical developments will also remain on TSX investors’ radar today as tensions around the Strait of Hormuz continue to affect oil prices and global shipping. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency warned that falling global oil inventories have increased the urgency of restoring normal traffic through the strait.
On the corporate events front, several TSX-listed companies like Stantec, CCL Industries, Northland Power, CAE, Bird Construction, G Mining Ventures, Hydro One, Metro, Boyd Group Services, and Maple Leaf Foods will release their latest quarterly earnings reports today.
Market movers on the TSX today
