(RTTNews) – Canadian stocks settled nearly unchanged on Thursday despite opening at a record high, as investors resorted to profit taking.
Canada’s benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index opened at a fresh record intraday high of 28,530.19. However, failing to hold there, the index turned lower and travelled in negative territory for most of the day before finally closing at 28,434.80, up by just 1.80 points (or 0.01%).
Today, data released by Statistics Canada revealed that Canada recorded a Current Account Deficit of C$21,200 million in the second quarter 2025.
On the earnings front, close on the heels of a stellar performance by Royal Bank of Canada, Canada’s second and fifth largest banks Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce respectively posted big quarterly earnings that surpassed analysts’ expectations.
The revenue growth was attributed to strength in domestic businesses and lower loan loss provisioning.
Of note, “loan loss provision” is the sum of money banks stash during uncertain conditions to shield against bad loans.
The Canadian minister for US-Canada trade and high-level officials are engaged in negotiations with their US counterparts to reduce the 35% tariff the US has slapped on Canada which took effect at the beginning of this month.
Last week, to ease trade tensions between the two nations, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney removed much of the retaliatory tariffs on US, a move which was welcomed by the White House.
On the monetary front in the US, after the Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated space for a rate cut in his speech at the recent Jackson Hole symposium, traders are convinced a lower rate is coming after the upcoming September 17 Fed meeting.
In Canada, with the current unemployment rate at 6.9% as of July and consumer inflation declined to around 1.7% year-over-year, markets are now fully pricing additional rate cuts from Canada’s central bank.
From around 5% in mid-2024, three times in a row, Bank of Canada’s governing council has been keeping the policy interest rate steady at 2.75%.
Recent business sentiment data provided by Statistics Canada showed 62.2% of business houses expect cost-related obstacles over the next three months, down from 65.4% in the previous quarter.
Major sectors that gained in today’s trading were IT (1.13%), Energy (0.40%), and Utilities (0.09%).
Among the individual stocks, Celestica Inc Sv (4.93%), Cameco Corp (4.34%), Lightspeed Commerce Inc (1.60%), and Transalta Corp (4.21%) were the prominent gainers.
Major sectors that lost in today’s trading were Financials (0.22%), Industrials (0.39%), Healthcare (0.47%), and Consumer Staples (0.60%).
Among the individual stocks, EQB Inc (11.21%), TD Bank (4.51%), Brookfield Business Partners LP (1.62%), and Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc (1.40%) were the notable losers.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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