TSX Ends Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended modestly lower on Wednesday with investors digesting earnings updates and awaiting the data on Canadian GDP and manufacturing activity due later in the week.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which opened on a weak note, briefly moved above the flat line around noon but retreated soon and eventually ended the day's session at 21,243.77 with a loss of 75.13 points or 0.35%.

National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) climbed 2.3%. The bank reported first-quarter net income of $922 million, up 5% from $876 million in the first quarter of 2023. First-quarter diluted earnings per share stood at $2.59 compared to $2.47 in the first quarter of 2023.

Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) bank reported net income of $3.6 billion for the quarter ended January 31, 2024, up $449 million or 14% from the prior year. Adjusted net income was $4.1 billion in the first quarter, down 5% from a year ago. The stock edged down marginally.

George Weston Ltd (WN.TO) reported adjusted net earnings of $342 million for the fourth quarter of 2023, down $27 million or 7.3% from the year-ago quarter. The stock ended down 1.44%.

MDA Ltd. (MDA.TO) gained about 0.6%. The company reported fourth-quarter earnings of C$13.5 million, up from C$8.8 million in the year-ago quarter. The company expects revenue of C$205 million to C$215 million in the first quarter of the current year.

Parkland Corporation (PKI.TO) dropped more than 6%. Stelco Holdings (STLC.TO), Sprott Inc (SII.TO), Cargojet (CJT.TO), Russel Metals (RUS.TO) and goeasy (GSY.TO) lost 2 to 4%.

Stella-Jones (SJ.TO), West Fraser Timber (WFJ.TO), Boyd Group Companies (BYD.TO), Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO), Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO) and Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO) gained 1.6 to 2%.

Data from Statistics Canada showed the nation's seasonally adjusted current account deficit narrowed to C$ 1.62 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023 from the upwardly revised gap of C$ 4.74 billion in the previous period.

A separate data from Statistics Canada showed average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees in Canada rose by 3.8% year-on-year to $1,212 in December 2023, slowing from a revised 3.9% growth in the previous month.