It was a volatile trading day on the TSX as the S&P/TSX Composite Index rose and fell.
Canada’s main stock index rose when trading commenced but soon faced upward and downward swings.
The index, which closed on Wednesday at 20,751.10, opened on Thursday at 20,813.49. But within the first five minutes of trading, the index began a fall that lasted over thirty minutes, dropping to 20,708.06 and losing 42.99 points, or 0.21 per cent.
Then it began to rise, peaking at 20,840.28 at 10.52 a.m. Again, it began to fall. The index continued like this virtually all session. By 12 noon, the index stood at 20,764.43, with a marginal gain of 13.38 points, or 0.06 per cent.
By the same 12 noon, the health care sector led the gainers’ chart with 2.76 per cent, followed by information technology with 2.49 per cent. Real estate was keeping to third place with 1.46 per cent.
From the bottom, the materials sector experienced the biggest loss of 2.07 per cent, followed by energy with a loss of 1.35 per cent, while consumer staples came third with a loss of 0.55 per cent.
On the individual stock level, ECN Capital was leading the gainers’ chart with 9.03 per cent, followed by Shopify Inc., which was gaining 7.13 per cent, while the third best-performing stock was Tricon Residential Inc., which was gaining 5.52 per cent.
On the losers’ chart, Canada Goose Holdings Inc. dipped hugely with 21.44 per cent, followed by Lightspeed Commerce Inc. with 8.60 per cent. The number three position was held by K92 Mining Inc., which was shedding 7.58 per cent.
In spite of the volatility of the index, it was still performing positively with a gain of 0.39 per cent in the past five days. In the past month, the index recorded a gain of 6.54 per cent and 8.01 per cent in the past three months. However, in the past year, the index was losing 1.48 per cent.
In the American capital market, the NASDAQ was up 2.89 per cent, gaining 341.01 points and standing at 12,157.33. However, the DOW was down to 33,878.62, losing 214.34, or 0.63 per cent.
The S&P 500 rose to 4,146.93, gaining 27.72 points, or 0.67 per cent, while the RUSSELL 2000 also rose to 1,997.93, gaining 37.12 points, or 1.89 per cent.
Crude oil fell to US$75.93 per barrel, losing $0.48, or 0.63 per cent.
Gold futures were up to US$1,947.20 per ounce, gaining $4.40, or 0.23 per cent.
The loonie lost against the American dollar, exchanging at US$0.7505, losing $0.0012, or 0.1636 per cent.
Even though the index has faced volatility, it is obvious that it is bent on remaining in positive territory, at least for today.
Market movers
On a day volatility dogged the market, our investment-savvy readers showed more interest in precious metals and utilities.
Infinity Stone Ventures Corp. (GEMS) staked another 3.5 square km and a pending application for 2 more claims on its Camaro Hellcat Lithium Project.
Mayfair Gold (MFG) reported positive results from its metallurgical test program at the Fenn-Gib gold project in the Timmins region of Ontario.
Global Water Resources (GWR) completed the previously-announced acquisition of Farmers Water Co.
Capital raises in the second half of the week include Turmalina Metals, Tenet, Sylla Gold and Stallion Discoveries.