By Adriano Marchese
Toronto stocks ere marginally hovering around flat levels in midday trading Wednesday after Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 1.3% on Tuesday. The Bank of Canada raised its main interest rate by half of a percentage point to 4.25% and suggested that it may have reached, or that it is approaching, the end of its campaign to slow down the economy. In the session, materials and retail were the leaders, while process industries and tech services were the main laggards. Among retailers, Dollarama Inc. shares rose after reporting rise in profit and higher revenue in the third quarter of fiscal 2023 as high inflation continues to drive consumers to look for better prices.
At midday, Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index was 0.01% higher at 19991.73 and the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 inched 0.06% lower to 1211.22.
Dollarama Inc. shares were up 4.3% at C$83.24 after it reported a 15% rise in earnings at 70 Canadian cents (51 U.S. cents) a share on sales of C$1.29 billion in its third quarter. This was an increase over last year's third-quarter revenue of C$1.12 billion, and better than the more modest rise to C$1.23 billion that analysts had expected. The dollar-store chain also said that it expects comparable sales growth to be better than previously expected in the full year, though margins are no longer forecasted to reach as high as it initially guided.
Other market movers:
Titan Medical Inc. shares were over 12% higher at C$1.00 in early trading Wednesday after the company said it suspended a planned special shareholders' meeting in January to save money and focus on its strategic-review process and that it would appeal potentially being delisting on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Shares of KWESST Micro Systems Inc. tumbled over 36% to C$4.01 after the company said it would raise $13.3 million in a U.S. initial public offering and a public offering of shares in Canada.
Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-07-22 1219ET
