TSX ends 0.1% higher at 25,854.01,
TD Bank gains 3.2% on earnings beat
Financials and technology both add 0.6%
Materials group falls 0.8% as gold pulls back
(Updates at market close)
May 22 (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index edged higher on Thursday as technology shares clawed back some of the previous day’s declines and investors cheered Toronto-Dominion Bank’s quarterly results.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended up 14.84 points, or 0.1%, at 25,854.01, with the market staying close to the record high that it posted earlier this week on easing global trade uncertainty.
U.S. stocks finished little changed as Treasury yields eased off recent highs after the House of Representatives passed U.S. President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill.
“Not saying that we’re out of the woods … but in Canada, we’re in a very low rate environment, inflation has come down dramatically, you’ve got pretty decent earnings,” said Barry Schwartz, chief investment officer at Baskin Wealth Management.
TD Bank reported better-than-expected earnings for the second quarter, powered by strength at its wholesale banking arm, and said it would lay off 2% of its workforce to cut costs and scale up its digital and AI investments.
Shares of Canada’s second-largest lender gained 3.2%, while the heavily weighted financials sector ended 0.6% higher.
Recent strength in bank stocks is a sign that investors are not expecting a deep economic slowdown, Schwartz said.
“The smart money is saying if there is a recession it may be a technical one, with no real impact on the economy and brighter days are ahead,” added Schwartz.
Technology also rose 0.6%, while the materials group, which includes fertilizer companies and metal mining shares, ended 0.8% lower as gold gave back some of its recent gains. (Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Sanchayaita Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed, Leroy Leo and Rod Nickel)