The Canadian market experienced a slightly sluggish start, but quickly recovered, enjoying a span of gains before trimming some recently acquired profits in the session's final hour. The end result was a day that saw a modest overall increase.
Investors turned cautious as the weekend approached, mindful of the upcoming Family Day break that would close markets on Monday.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index—the benchmark for the Canadian market—experienced a slight rise of 32.92 points, or 0.16%, settling at 21,255.61 after peaking at the day's high of 21,323.98. On a weekly scale, the index managed to secure a gain of 1.9%.
Sectors that witnessed notable gains included communications and materials, with healthcare and energy stocks also receiving some support despite a downward trend in the technology sector, which mirrored the Nasdaq's performance.
Among the individual movers, Ero Copper saw a significant uptick of 7.8%, while Stelco Holdings, Rogers Communications, Agnico Eagle Mines, TC Energy Corporation, Cogeco Communications, Restaurant Brands International, and Waste Connections experienced minor increases ranging from 1% to 3%.
Conversely, Air Canada's shares slumped by 6.5%. The airline announced its fourth-quarter 2023 net income as $184 million, with diluted earnings per share of $0.41—only a whisper above the $168 million net income and identical diluted earnings per share reported for the same period of the previous year.
Nuvei Corporation's shares slipped nearly 6%, with Shopify Inc also experiencing a 3% decline. Fairfax Financial Holdings, Alimentation Couche-Tard, EQB Inc, BRP Inc, Premium Brands Holdings Corporation, goeasy, FirstService Corporation, and Kinaxis Inc all recorded losses ranging from 1% to 2%.
On the economic data front, the latest figures from Statistics Canada revealed a monthly increase of 0.3% in wholesale sales, totaling C$82.9 billion in December 2023. This represented a slight slowdown from the 0.9% drop reported in the preceding month.
