Canadian stocks went sideways for a second consecutive session on Monday as investors remained cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s upcoming interest rate decision. The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped by 12 points, or 0.1%, to settle at 21,837.
Even as some healthcare and industrial stocks continued to rise, most other key market sectors, including utilities and technology, fell sharply — pressuring the main TSX benchmark.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
BlackBerry, NovaGold Resources, New Gold, and Alimentation Couche-Tard were the worst-performing TSX stocks yesterday as they plunged by at least 3.4% each.
On the flip side, shares of Nuvei (TSX:NVEI) popped by nearly 32% to $38.86 per share, making it the session’s top-performing TSX stock. This notable rally in NVEI stock came after the Montréal payment services provider acknowledged recent media speculation about possibly going private but stated its policy of not commenting on rumours.
Nuvei told investors that it has formed a special committee of independent directors to evaluate expressions of interest and other strategic alternatives, engaging in discussions with third parties about a potential transaction. However, the company said that no decision has been made regarding any transaction, and it will not provide further updates unless required by securities laws. After this rally, NVEI stock now trades with 11.6% year-to-date gains.
Tilray, Vermilion Energy, and Lightspeed Commerce were also among the top gainers on the Toronto Stock Exchange as they inched up by at least 3.5% each.
Based on their daily trade volume, Canadian Natural Resources, TC Energy, National Bank of Canada, Suncor Energy, and Crescent Point Energy were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Most commodity prices, especially metals, were trading on a bearish note early Tuesday morning, pointing to the lower open for the resource-heavy main TSX index today. Canadian investors will closely monitor the latest monthly consumer inflation report this morning, which could give further direction to stocks.
On the corporate events side, Orla Mining will release its latest quarterly results after the market closing bell on March 19. Bay Street analysts expect the gold miner to post adjusted quarterly earnings of US$0.03 per share with US$63.7 million in revenue.