The Canadian stock market experienced a moderate uptick on Wednesday, breaking a string of three consecutive losing sessions, buoyed primarily by gains in the utilities and technology sectors.
A pivotal factor was data from the U.S. Labor Department indicating a smaller-than-anticipated rise in April's consumer prices, which alleviated concerns about potential interest rate increases. Investors also had a plethora of economic data from both the U.S. and Canada to consider, in addition to several corporate earnings reports.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index saw a minor decline post a positive opening but managed to recover, closing with a gain of 41.42 points, or 0.19%, at 22,284.76. The index had dipped to 22,214.61 early in the session before climbing back up to 22,334.69.
Key performers in the utilities sector included Boralex Inc (BLX.TO), which surged by 7%, reporting a notable increase in first-quarter net earnings to $73 million, up $28 million year-over-year. Innergex Renewable Energy (INE.TO) saw an 8% jump, while Brookfield Renewable Partners (BEP.UN.TO) and Northland Power Inc (NPI.TO) gained 4.5% and 3.85%, respectively. Capital Power (CPX.TO), Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp (AQN.TO), and TransAlta Corp (TA.TO) advanced between 2.2% and 2.3%.
In the technology sector, Bitfarms (BITF.TO) and Hut 8 Corp (HUT.TO) soared by 15.5% and 12.5%, respectively, with Bitfarms reporting an adjusted EBITDA of $21 million (42% of revenue), a substantial rise from $14 million (30% of revenue) in Q4 2023. Celestica Inc (CLS.TO) surged 8%, while Converge Technology Solutions (CTS.TO) and Coveo Solutions (CVO.TO) rose 5.2% and 2.6%, respectively. Other notable gains were seen in CGI Group (GIB.A.TO), Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO), Copperleaf Technologies (CPLF.TO), and Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO).
Among individual stocks, Bombardier Inc (BBD.B.TO) rose 5.2%, Morguard Corporation (MRC.TO) gained 3.1%, and West Fraser Timber (WFG.TO) and Colliers International (CIGI.TO) advanced by 3% and 2.9%, respectively.
Contrastingly, Boyd Group Services Inc (BYD.TO) dropped approximately 7.1% following a decrease in first-quarter net earnings to $8.4 million, down from $20.8 million the previous year. SNC Lavalin Group (ATRL.TO) slipped 4.6%, despite reporting adjusted net income growth to $73.8 million, or $0.42 per diluted share, up from $55.4 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, in the same quarter of the prior year.
First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) ended down 4.7%, with notable declines also seen in CCL Industries (CCL.A.TO), Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO), BRP Inc (DOO.TO), Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV.TO), and Methanex Corporation (MX.TO).
On the economic front, the Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation reported a slight 0.87% month-over-month decline in housing starts, totaling 240,229 units in April. Meanwhile, Statistics Canada revealed that the nation's manufacturing sales fell by 2.1% month-over-month to C$69.9 billion in March, a less severe drop than the previously estimated 2.8% decline. Year-over-year, sales were down 3.1% in March.
U.S. data showed consumer prices in April rose by 0.3%, slightly less than the expected 0.4%, following a 0.4% increase in March. The annual rate of consumer price growth slowed to 3.4% in April from 3.5% in March, aligning with expectations. Meanwhile, the annual core consumer price growth rate decelerated to 3.6% from 3.8% in March, also matching forecasts.
