Despite the ongoing pandemic and war-induced challenges, the TSX benchmark index is on track to record its ninth straight month of gains.
Similarly, the Canadian economy continued its streak of monthly gains, with preliminary data showing the growth went beyond expectations for the first quarter, with preliminary data showing first-quarter growth of about 5.6 per cent on an annualized basis, which is higher than most forecasts.
According to results released on Friday by Statistics Canada, gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.5 per cent in March, giving Canada her tenth straight month of growth. In February, the economy grew more than expected by 1.1 per cent.
The economy is on track to grow by almost double the Bank of Canada’s latest projections for the first quarter, which was forecast at 3 per cent annualized just a fortnight ago. Central bank officials projected that the country was already at full capacity at the end of last year after the economy grew at a strong annualized 6.7 per cent pace in the fourth quarter.
The Canadian dollar did not change much, maintaining gains of 0.5 per cent on the day to $1.274 per U.S. dollar at 8:45 a.m. in Toronto trading.
The stock market, despite the monthly positive streak of Canada’s main stock index, fell on Friday in reaction to the pressure Amazon had on Wall Street.
At 9:41 a.m. ET (13:41 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 82.69 points, or 0.39 per cent, at 21,038.37.
The energy sector climbed 0.7 per cent as oil prices rose for a fourth day as fears over Russian supply disruption overshadowed COVID-19 lockdowns in China, the world’s biggest crude importer.
The financial sector slipped 0.4 per cent, while the industrial sector fell 1 per cent, dragged down by a 22 per cent fall in shares of NFI Group following a downbeat 2022 forecast.
The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.5 per cent as gold futures rose 1.4 per cent to $1,915 an ounce boosted by a pullback in the dollar.
The economic figures from the Bank of Canada confirm projections that Canada will experience higher growth than many economies in 2022. Part of the reason for this is that the crisis in Ukraine will not affect the country as badly as other countries because of her commodities sector.
Market movers
This week, our readers have gravitated towards the technology, industrial, cannabis, and renewable energy sectors.
Three of PyroGenesis‘ Drosrite systems passed site acceptance testing.
CVW CleanTech released 2021 financial results.
Delta 9 Cannabis obtained a $4,990,264.37 loan from a shareholder due on July 15, 2025.
Capital raises these two last days of the business week include: Enduro Metals Corporation, Bullet Exploration, General Copper Gold, Alianza Minerals, and Canada Carbon.
