TSX Today: What to Watch for in Stocks on Friday, February 21

In addition to Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem’s speech, TSX investors may want to keep an eye on the domestic retail sales and U.S. manufacturing numbers.

Jitendra Parashar

Published February 21, 9:00 am EST

Canadian stocks continued to decline for a second consecutive session on Thursday as U.S. tariff concerns, dismal corporate earnings, and rising Treasury bond yields worried investors. The S&P/TSX Composite Index gave up another 112 points, or 0.4%, to close at 25,514, erasing nearly all of its weekly gains.

Even as strengthening metals prices pushed metals and mining stocks higher, weakness in most other key market sectors, including technology and consumer, dragged the TSX benchmark down.

Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks

TFI International (TSX:TFII) tanked by 21% to $143.78 per share, making it the worst-performing TSX stock for the day. This selloff in TFI stock came after the Saint Laurent-based transportation and logistics firm announced its disappointing fourth-quarter earnings.

In the quarter ended December 2024, TFI’s revenue rose 5.5% year over year to US$2.1 billion with the help of contributions from business acquisitions. However, lower freight volumes and higher U.S. accident-related expenses drove the company’s adjusted quarterly earnings down by over 30% to US$1.19 per share, missing Bay Street analysts’ expectations of US$1.60 per share by a wide margin. TFI stock is now down 26% year to date.

OceanaGold, Celestica, and BlackBerry also dived by at least 5% each, positioning them among the day’s bottom performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

In contrast, Innergex Renewable Energy, Bausch Health, First Majestic Silver, and Ivanhoe Mines were the top-performing TSX stocks for the day as they jumped by at least 6.9% each.

According to the exchange’s daily trade volume data, Canadian Natural Resources, Enbridge, Cenovus Energy, Manulife Financial, and B2Gold stood out as the five most active stocks.

TSX today

Commodity prices across the board were bearish in early Friday trading, which could pressure the resource-heavy TSX index at the open today.

Besides the domestic retail sales numbers, Canadian investors may also want to keep an eye on the U.S. manufacturing, services, and existing home sales data this morning. In the afternoon, the Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem’s speech will be closely watched for any insights into the central bank’s outlook on inflation and interest rates.

On the corporate events front, TSX-listed companies like Emera, Secure Energy, and Onex will announce their latest quarterly results today, which could keep their shares in focus.