By Ketki Saxena
Investing.com – At 9:40 a.m in Toronto, the S&P/TSX Composite Index was at 19,562.17 points, up 0.39% in the day’s trading, with investor sentiment stabilizing as U.S. House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi exited Taiwan following a brief visit in which she pledged solidarity to Taiwan, hailed its democracy, and thoroughly riled the fury of Beijing.
The escalation in U.S. - Chinese tensions, which saw Chinese warplanes buzz over the straits of Taiwan - sharply heightened risk-off sentiment yesterday and weighed on global equities, causing the TSX to close down 0.95% in yesterday’s trading.
Further gains on the commodity-heavy Canadian index were capped by a reversal in crude following a (small) output hike from OPEC+ announced at its meeting today. Crude prices had gained earlier in the session after the OPEC+ hike turned out to be relatively small, despite OPEC+ member Kazakhstan’s comments prior to the meeting calling for a large output increase to avoid the market overheating.
Canadian Stocks to Watch Today
The big news on Bay Street this morning after the UK’s competition regulator ordered Canadian cloud-based software firm Dye & Durham (TSX:DND) to sell UK-based TM Group following an investigation that identified competition concerns. In an emailed statement to Reuters, TM Group said it “respects the decision made and will continue to fully cooperate with the CMA as we work with both them and Dye & Durham to identify a long-term investor.”
Other Bay Street news includes Semiconductor supplier Semtech’s planned acquisition of Canada's Sierra Wireless in an all-cash deal valued at $1.2 billion.. Semtech will acquire all shares of Sierra Wireless for $31 per share.
Today’s TSX Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
- Air Canada: ATB Capital Markets raises target price to C$32 from C$30, citing strong advanced bookings during the second quarter.
- Capital Power Corp: ATB Capital Markets raises target price to C$49 from C$46, after the company’s second-quarter results beat estimates.
- Definity Financial Corp: National Bank of Canada (TSX:NA) raises target price to C$39 from C$38, following the company’s strong second-quarter results supported by higher-than-expected net investment income.
- Neighbourly Pharmacy Inc: Desjardins Securities cuts target price to C$25 from C$26, saying the company’s 9% sell-off was excessive following its slightly softer-than-expected first quarter results.
TSX Earnings Expected Today
- B2Gold Corp (TSX:BTO): Expected Q2 earnings of 6 cents per share
- Boralex Inc (TSX:BLX): Expected Q2 earnings of 7 Canadian cents per share
- Colliers International Group Inc: Expected Q2 earnings of $1.66 per share
- Great-West Lifeco (TSX:GWO) Inc: Expected Q2 earnings of 85 Canadian cents per share
- Iamgold Corp: Expected Q2 earnings of 2 cents per share
- Innergex Renewable Energy Inc: Expected Q2 earnings of 14 Canadian cents per share
- NFI Group Inc (TSX:NFI): Expected Q2 loss of 69 cents per share
- Nutrien (TSX:NTR) Ltd: Expected Q2 earnings of $5.74 per share
- Nuvista Energy Ltd: Expected Q2 earnings of 45 Canadian cents per share
- Parex Resources (TSX:PXT) Inc: Expected Q2 earnings of $1.47 per share
- Sun Life Financial (TSX:SLF) Inc: Expected Q2 earnings of C$1.40 per share
In Canadian Economics
No Major Canadian Economics Data is expected today.