Toronto Stocks Retreat; BCE Shares Down on Profit Decline, Big Layoffs, Divestitures
By Adriano Marchese
Toronto-listed stocks were firmly lower mid-trading on Thursday. According to FactSet, the takeaway message from Wednesday's Bank of Canada deliberations was of apprehension on cutting rates too soon as the "last stretch of the inflation fight is fraught with risks."
In the session, most sectors were in red territory, with the biggest losses coming from the tech sector, followed by communications and producer manufacturing. Of the few gainers, energy and retail were at the top.
Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index was trading 0.63% lower at 20837.11 and the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 was down 0.50% to 1258.21.
Shares in telecommunications giant BCE were down 4.1% to 50.91 Canadian dollars ($37.81) after it said it will slash its workforce by 9%, or 4,800 employees, as part of its transformation and in a bid to cut costs. In its fourth quarter, BCE reported a decline in profit and in-line revenue growth in the fourth quarter.
Other market movers:
Thomson Reuters' Toronto stock was up 2.8% to C$206.60 after it said it is targeting a step up in revenue growth in the years ahead, after boosting earnings in the fourth quarter thanks to an increase in value of the Canadian news and information provider's investment in London Stock Exchange Group.
Bombardier shares tumbled by nearly 14% to C$44.85 after it reported a decline in profit in the fourth quarter, despite better-than-expected revenue growth. For 2024, the company has set targets to deliver more aircraft and generate more revenue than in 2023.
Cineplex swung to a loss in the fourth quarter, while revenue rose higher thanks to more moviegoers in the period. Shares were down 7.3% to C$7.61.
Shares of Lightspeed Commerce down by 18% to C$21.58 in Toronto after it said it is taking a cautious stance on near-term prospects despite a better-than-expected performance in its third quarter and a bump to full-year guidance. In its fiscal third quarter, adjusted earnings and revenue both beat expectations, and was ahead of its own targets on the company's key metric of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 08, 2024 12:26 ET (17:26 GMT)
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