The Canadian stock market staged a minor recovery on Friday after sliding for five sessions in a row. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 31 points in the last session to settle at 20,219. Despite these minor gains, the index declined by 1.4% last week, ending its third consecutive week in the red.
On the one hand, a bounce back in crude oil and natural gas prices led to minor gains in energy stocks on February 24. On the other hand, heavy losses in other key market sectors like metal mining, healthcare, and technology trimmed broader market gains, as investors remained worried about hot inflation data and the growing possibility of more interest rate hikes.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Shares of First Majestic Silver (TSX:FR) plunged by nearly 12% on Friday to $8.11 per share, making it the worst-performing TSX Composite component for the day. This big selloff in FR stock came a day after the company announced its disappointing fourth-quarter results.
During the quarter, First Majestic’s revenue fell 7% year over year to US$148.2 million, as its total production declined by 14% due to lower quarterly output at its Santa Elena and San Dimas mines. As a result, the mining company posted an adjusted quarterly net loss of US$17.4 million, hurting investors’ sentiments. On a year-to-date basis, FR stock now trades with 28.1% losses.
Jamieson Wellness, Sprott, Capstone Copper, and Ero Copper were also among the worst performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange in the last session, as they dived by at least 4.5% each.
On the positive side, Eldorado Gold, Athabasca Oil, Advantage Energy, and Spartan Delta inched up by at least 4.7% each, making them the top-performing TSX stocks for the day.
Based on their daily trade volume, Suncor Energy, Manulife Financial, Athabasca Oil, and Cenovus Energy were the most active Canadian stocks.
TSX today
Commodity prices across the board were trading on a mixed note early Monday morning, pointing to a flat open for the main TSX index today. While no major domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors may want to watch the latest monthly durable goods orders and pending home sales data from the United States this morning.
On the corporate events side, TSX-listed energy companies Africa Oil, Energy Fuels, MEG Energy, and Nexgen Energy are expected to release their latest quarterly results on February 27.
Market movers on the TSX today
