The Canadian equities market continued to trade in a narrow range for the sixth consecutive session on Friday as investors seemed worried about the economic outlook despite the Bank of Canada’s (BoC) recent interest rate cut decision. The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped by 26 points, or 0.1%, in the last session to settle at 21,555.
Despite a recovery in consumer cyclical and tech stocks during the session, heavy losses in other key sectors like mining, real estate, and energy pressured the TSX benchmark. With this, the market index fell 0.4% last week, marking its fifth consecutive week of losses.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Ballard Power, Brookfield Business Partners, PrairieSky Royalty, Ivanhoe Mines, and Interfor were the worst-performing TSX stocks for the day as they dived by more than 4% each.
In contrast, Bombardier (TSX:BBD.B) stood out as the top gainer on the Toronto Stock Exchange, climbing by 4.1% to $89.56 per share. This rally in Bombardier stock came a day after the Dorval-headquartered business jet manufacturer told investors that it had redeemed US$338 million of its 7.125% senior notes due 2026 and US$450 million of its 7.875% senior notes due 2027.
This redemption is part of Bombardier’s ongoing efforts to manage its debt effectively. In another important development during the weekend, the Canadian private sector union Unifor announced a strike involving 1,350 members at Bombardier’s facilities due to failed negotiations before the deadline. This news could keep Bombardier’s shares volatile today, as they currently trade with 68.3% year-to-date gains.
Lightspeed Commerce and IGM Financial were also among the session’s top-performing TSX stocks, rising by at least 3% each.
Based on their daily trade volume, Cenovus Energy, TC Energy, Canadian Natural Resources, TD Bank, and Suncor Energy were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Commodity prices across the board were mixed early Monday morning, pointing to a flat opening for the resource-heavy TSX index today.
Although no major economic data releases are due this morning, Canadian investors may want to keep an eye on the BoC governor Tiff Macklem’s comments about the economy during his speech at the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce in the afternoon.