Canada Stocks: TSX rises on softer retail sales data, commodities boost

Lightspeed Commerce

24/05/2024 15:23

(Updated at 9:48 a.m. ET)

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      Canada March retail sales down 0.2%
    

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      TSX up 0.3% 
    

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      Lightspeed Commerce rises on CIBC rating upgrade 
    

  
    By Khushi Singh
       May 24 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index opened
higher on Friday as investors cheered softer retail sales data
which cemented bets of a June interest rate cut by the Bank of
Canada, while resource stocks led gains on higher commodity
prices. 
    At 9:48 a.m. ET (13:48 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's
S&P/TSX composite index  .GSPTSE  was up 76.19 points, or 0.34%,
at 22,276.98.
    Canada's retail sales contracted for a third consecutive
month and dropped by 0.2% in March, while analysts polled by
Reuters had forecast no change in retail sales from what they
were in February. 
    "As the BoC starts to trim interest rates ahead, sales
should have a floor under them, but mortgage renewals at higher
interest rates relative to pandemic-era lows still suggest
lacklustre consumer spending in the quarters ahead," Katherine
Judge, Director & Senior Economist at CIBC Capital Markets,
wrote in a note.
    Earlier in the week, data also showed the country's annual
inflation rate touched a three-year low in April. 
    Traders now anticipate the Bank of Canada to cut interest
rates at its June 5 monetary policy meeting with a 60%
probability, owing to the drop in inflation and lackluster
economic growth.  0#BOCWATCH   
    Among sectors, the energy sector  .SPTTEN  led sectoral
gains with a 0.9% jump, tracking a rise in crude prices.  O/R 
    The materials sector  .GSPTTMT , which includes precious and
base metals miners and fertilizer companies, followed with a
0.5% uptick, supported by higher gold prices.  GOL/   MET/L 
    On a weekly basis, the benchmark S&P/TSX index looks set for
its biggest drop since mid-April. 
    A sell-off in materials stocks due to lower metal prices and
expectations of higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates weighed on
Canadian equities despite the benchmark index securing an
all-time high earlier in the week.
    In corporate news, shares of cloud commerce solution
provider Lightspeed Commerce  LSPD.TO  climbed 5.3% to the top
of TSX after CIBC upgraded its rating to 'outperformer' from
'neutral' and hiked its price target on the stock. 


 (Reporting by Khushi Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Ravi
Prakash Kumar)
 ((Khushi.Singh@thomsonreuters.com;))