Toronto stocks finished the trading day lower on Monday, driven by weakness across the Consumer Discretionary, Materials and Industrials sectors. At the close, the S&P/TSX Composite registered a decline of 0.74%.
Market breadth favored decliners: 577 issues fell versus 379 that advanced, while 64 names finished unchanged on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Top gainers
Among the strongest performers, Bird Construction Inc. (TSX:BDT) led gains, rising 5.62% or 2.90 points to finish at 54.53. The move in Bird Construction pushed the stock to all-time highs during the session. Aecon Group Inc. (TSX:ARE) also posted a notable advance, adding 5.24% or 2.71 points to close at 54.47, a level described as a five-year high. BlackBerry Ltd (TSX:BB) was higher as well, up 3.53% or 0.26 points to trade at 7.62 late in the session.
Largest decliners
On the downside, Gildan Activewear Inc. (TSX:GIL) fell 5.51% or 4.61 points to end the day at 79.00. TFI International Inc (TSX:TFII) dropped 5.40% or 10.45 points to close at 183.01. AbraSilver Resource Corp (TSX:ABRA) was down 4.99% or 0.85 points to 16.20.
Volatility and commodities
The S&P/TSX 60 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of options on the S&P/TSX Composite, rose 8.39% to 17.19, indicating higher option-implied volatility compared with the prior close.
Commodities moved unevenly. Gold Futures for June delivery declined 2.55% or 118.34 to $4,526.16 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for June delivery climbed 2.83% or 2.88 to reach $104.82 a barrel, and the July Brent oil contract advanced 4.97% or 5.38 to trade at $113.55 a barrel.
Foreign exchange and indexes
On the currency front, CAD/USD was unchanged, moving 0.23% to 0.73, while CAD/EUR was essentially flat, changing 0.02% to 0.63. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.34% at 98.33.
What the session shows
Overall, the close reflects a day in which select industrial and construction-related stocks outperformed even as broader sector groups such as Consumer Discretionary, Materials and Industrials weighed on the S&P/TSX Composite aggregate. Volatility as measured by the S&P/TSX 60 VIX increased, while commodity markets moved in different directions with energy prices rising and gold falling.
Investors monitoring individual names will note the contrasts between stocks reaching multi-year highs, such as Aecon, and those seeing sharp pullbacks, such as Gildan and TFI International.