FX.co ★ Canadian Market Ends On Positive Note; TSX Scales New High

On Thursday, the Canadian market saw a noteworthy increase, buoyed by promising Canadian and U.S. GDP data. The spike in oil and gold prices contributed to the positive sentiment as well.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index, Canada’s key equity index, hit a record high of 22,220.91, surpassing the earlier record of 22,213.07 set in April 2022. It concluded the day with a gain of 59.95 points, or 0.27%, settling at a new closing high of 22,167.03. This represents an increase of 0.83% in the shortened holiday week.

The materials sector experienced notable growth with shares rallying following an increase in gold prices. Energy stocks too enjoyed a good day, buoyed by higher crude oil prices. The utilities sector didn't lag behind as it also saw substantial gains.

Hut 8 Corp, a significant player in the market, saw its shares skyrocket by 11.5%. The company announced a net income of $6.2 million for the six months ending December 31, 2023, a significant leap from the net loss of $81.3 million recorded during the equivalent period in 2022.

Additionally, the shares of Seabridge Gold surged by 9.2% despite the company reporting an increased net loss for the financial year 2023. The company suffered a net loss of $29.3 million in 2023 compared to a net loss of $7.4 million the previous year.

BRP Inc also saw its shares climb by 5.4%, despite a reduced net income of C$188.2 million, or C$2.46 per share, for the fourth quarter, a drop from C$365.1 million, or C$4.54 per share, in the same quarter the previous year. The company’s revenue also witnessed a fall, dropping to C$2.692 billion from C$3.076 billion in the previous year. However, BRP expects normalized earnings per share for fiscal 2025 to be within the range of $7.25 to $8.25. The expected revenue for the year is slated to be between $9.1 billion and $9.5 billion.

Companies including Teck Resources, Agnico Eagle Mines, Franco-Nevada Corporation, Novagold, MAG Silver Corp, First Majestic Silver, Torex Gold Resources, Iamgold Corp, Kinross Gold, Filo Mining, Lundin Mining, and B2Gold Corp witnessed share price increases from 3 to 7.5%.

Other prominent performers were Bank of Montreal, Brookfield Infra Partners, AltaGas, Algonquin Power, Baytex Energy, Prairiesky Royalty, Tourmaline Oil Corp, and Vermilion Energy.

Preliminary estimates suggest that Canada’s economy grew by 0.4% in February 2024, with increases in sectors such as mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction, manufacturing, and finance and insurance, which helped offset decreases in utilities.

In another economic indicator, the January GDP expanded by 0.6%, exceeding the preliminary estimate of 0.4%. Other data from Statistics Canada revealed that average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees grew by 3.9% year-on-year, settling at $1,228 in January 2024.

However, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business reported that its business barometer, which reflects long-term 12-month forward expectations for business performance, dipped to 52.7 in March, down from a revised figure of 55.1 in February.

Lastly, data from the U.S. Commerce Department showed an unexpected higher growth rate in the U.S. economy for the fourth quarter of 2023 than previously estimated.