TSX Up Marginally In Cautious Trade After Inflation Data

(RTTNews) - After a marginal upmove at the start, the Canadian market slipped into negative territory Tuesday morning, but recovered and edged above the flat line subsequently on selective buying as investors digest the nation's inflation data and continue to follow the developments on the geopolitical front.

Higher bond yields weigh on stocks.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is up 12.96 points or 0.05% at 25,496.19 about half an hour before noon.

Data from Statistics Canada showed the annual inflation rate in Canada edged higher to 1.9% in January 2025, from 1.8% in the previous month. The CPI in Canada rose 0.1% from a month earlier in January 2025, as expected, compared with a 0.4% decline in December 2024.

The annual core inflation rate in Canada which excludes eight of the most volatile components such as food, energy and mortgage interest costs, rose for the second month to 2.1% in January 2025, the highest in nearly a year, up from December's 1.8%. On a monthly basis, core consumer prices increased by 0.4%, after falling by 0.3% in the prior month.

Materials and energy stocks are finding some support thanks to higher commodity prices. A few stocks from healthcare, financials and industrials sectors are also up in positive territory, while utilties and technology stocks are a bit weak.

Interfor Corporation (IFP.TO) and BlackBerry (BB.TO) are climbing up 8.4% and 8%, respectively. International Petroleum Corporation (IPCO.TO), Eldorado Corporation (ELD.TO), MDA Space (MDA.TO), Bombardier Inc (BBD.B.TO) and Telesat Corporation (TSAT.TO) are gaining 3 to 4.2%.

MTY Food Group Inc (MTY.TO), Torex Gold Resources (TXG.TO), Endeavour Mining (EDV.TO), Lundin Gold (LUG.TO), Capital Power Corporation (CPX.TO) and Badger Infrastructure (BDGI.TO) are up 2 to 3%.

Precision Drilling Corporation (PD.TO), Nutrien (NTR.TO), Cogeco Inc. (CGO.TO), Aritzia Inc (ATZ.TO), Stella-Jones (SJ.TO) and Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) are also notably higher.

Cargojet Inc. (CJT.TO) is down 3.4% despite reporting higher earnings. The company reported adjusted net profit of $27.2 million or $1.71 per diluted share for the fourth-quarter of 2024, compared to $5.8 million or $0.34 per diluted share in the year-ago quarter.

Fortuna Mining (FVI.TO) is down more than 7%. Fortis Inc (FTS.TO), Tenaz Energy (TNZ.TO), Propel Holdings (PRL.TO), Open Text Corporation (OTEX.TO), Hydro One (H.TO), AtkinsRealis (ATRL.TO), Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) and Enbridge Inc (ENB.TO) are down 1 to 4%.