Canada's equity market finished the trading day with a fractional gain on Tuesday, as pockets of strength in Energy, Utilities and Materials provided support for the index.
At the close in Toronto, the S&P/TSX Composite registered a 0.01% increase.
Top performers
- NovaGold Resources Inc (TSX:NG) led the session's winners, climbing 11.45% - a rise of 1.64 points - to finish at 15.96.
- Celestica Inc. (TSX:CLS) gained 7.05%, adding 29.80 points to end the session at 452.26.
- MDA Ltd (TSX:MDA) rose 6.46%, an increase of 2.37 points, to close at 39.07.
Largest decliners
- Cogeco Communications Inc (TSX:CCA) was the weakest major name, falling 5.94% or 4.26 points to 67.50 at the close.
- Constellation Software Inc. (TSX:CSU) dropped 5.65%, down 158.67 points to finish at 2,651.30.
- Metro Inc. (TSX:MRU) declined 5.48%, losing 5.39 points to end the day at 92.93.
Market breadth on the Toronto Stock Exchange showed more losers than winners, with 513 stocks declining and 471 advancing. An additional 69 issues finished unchanged.
Two notable benchmark moves at the stock level: shares of NovaGold Resources (TSX:NG) climbed to five-year highs, while Constellation Software (TSX:CSU) fell to 52-week lows as it recorded the session's sharpest point decline among the large names.
Volatility, as measured by the S&P/TSX 60 VIX - the gauge of implied volatility for S&P/TSX Composite options - moved lower by 1.29% to 15.26, indicating a modest easing in expected near-term volatility.
Commodities and currencies
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for April delivery were up 1.77%, a rise of 90.89, to trade at 5,213.19 a troy ounce. Crude oil for March delivery rose 3.02% or 1.83 to $62.46 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract increased 2.79% or 1.81 to trade at $66.58 a barrel.
On the currency front, the Canadian dollar strengthened versus the U.S. dollar, with CAD/USD up 0.96% to 0.74. CAD/EUR moved 0.39% to 0.61.
The U.S. Dollar Index Futures eased, trading down 1.27% at 95.63.
This report presents the day's market outcomes, including index movement, leading and lagging stocks, breadth measures, volatility and selected commodity and currency prices.