The Canadian market concluded the trading session on Friday with a robust performance, recovering from losses incurred over the previous two days. Investors were inclined to purchase stocks at their reduced prices, bolstered by anticipations of a possible rate cut by the Bank of Canada next month.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed with an uptick of 120.08 points, or 0.54%, landing at 22,320.87. This rebound followed a cumulative decline of approximately 1.2% over the two prior sessions. Despite the shortened trading week due to the Victoria Day holiday on Monday, the index still experienced a weekly dip of around 0.65%.
Notable performers included Bombardier Inc (BBD.A.TO), Celestica Inc (CLS.TO), and Gildan Activewear (GIL.TO), which saw increases ranging from 5.3% to 6%. Constellation Software (CSU.TO), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO), Stantec Inc (STN.TO), EQB Inc (EQB.TO), and goeasy (GSY.TO) also posted gains between 2% and 2.6%. Additionally, Cameco Corporation (CCO.TO), Precision Drilling Corporation (PD.TO), and Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO) recorded strong upward movements.
Conversely, Dayforce Inc (DAY.TO) experienced a significant decline, plummeting 8.2%. Calian Group (CGY.TO), Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), Open Text Corporation (OTEX.TO), BCE Inc (BCE.TO), and Nutrien (NTR.TO) also ended the day with notable losses.
On the economic data front, Statistics Canada reported a 0.2% decrease in retail sales for March compared to the previous month. However, retail sales in Canada showed a year-over-year increase of 1.9% in March, an improvement from a downwardly revised 1% growth the previous month.
Additionally, another report from Statistics Canada indicated that manufacturing sales rose by 1.2% in April, recovering from a 2.1% decline in March 2024.