By Adriano Marchese
Stocks in Toronto were lower Tuesday in midday trading, having come up from its lows earlier in the morning. Bank of Canada will report on rates Wednesday and investors are sitting on the sidelines while they wait. Canada's producer manufacturing sector was the main decliner, followed by tech services and energy, offset by gains in health tech, retail trade and communications. Shares of Canadian food retailer Metro Inc. rose after reporting better-than-expected profit in its first quarter of fiscal 2023 as the soaring cost of food in Canada drove sales above forecasts.
Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 0.04% at 20624.19 and the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 fell by 0.02% to 1242.60.
Metro Inc. shares were 2.2% higher at 76.02 Canadian dollars (C$56.87) after reporting net income of C$231.1 million, or C$0.97 a share, for the three months ended Dec. 17, compared with C$207.7 million, or C$0.85 a share, a year earlier. Food prices in Canada rose significantly in 2022, peaking in October at 11.4%, which helped support the 8.2% increase in Metro's sales to C$4.67 billion. Analysts' consensus expectation was for sales of C$4.63 billion.
Other market movers:
Shares in Magna International Inc. dropped 7.1% to C$81.33 after the Canadian auto-parts maker said it expects to report lower margins than previously forecast for 2022 despite sales meeting targets.
Pyrogenesis Canada Inc. shares climbed more than 15% to C$1.20 after the company said it received approval for a 3D metal powder factory from a global aerospace company.
GoGold Resources Inc.'s shares fell 12% to C$2.22 after the Canadian silver and gold producer agreed to sell roughly C$65 million of its stock to help fund project development.
Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-24-23 1222ET
