The Canadian stock market continued to slide for a second consecutive session on Thursday as investors remained cautious amid mixed U.S. economic data and growing geopolitical tensions. The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell by 33 points, or 0.1%, settling at 23,969.
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Sector Performance
While energy stocks benefited from a 3.8% surge in crude oil prices due to the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict, other sectors did not fare as well. Utilities, real estate, and technology saw significant declines, offsetting gains made in the energy space. This mixed performance across sectors kept the TSX index in negative territory.
Top Movers on the TSX Composite
NovaGold Resources (TSX: NG) was the worst performer, plummeting nearly 13% to $4.93 per share. This selloff followed the announcement of its third-quarter financial results, where it reported a net loss of $10.7 million due to higher costs and lower interest income. Despite this, NovaGold maintained a cash position of US$105.6 million.
Other bottom performers included Equinox Gold, NFI Group, and Energy Fuels, each sliding by at least 4.2%.
Conversely, Parex Resources, Secure Energy Services, MDA Space, and MEG Energy were the top performers, climbing by at least 4.4% each.
Active Stocks
The most active stocks on the exchange based on daily trade volume were the Bank of Nova Scotia, Baytex Energy, TD Bank, TC Energy, and Suncor Energy.
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Market Outlook
As of early Friday, commodity prices, particularly gold and silver, showed bullish trends, suggesting a slightly higher open for TSX mining stocks. Canadian investors are also monitoring the latest U.S. jobs report, which could provide insights into the strength of the labor market and influence the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decisions.