Toronto Stocks Rise Slightly, Pet Valu Shares Fall as Sales Growth Cools in 4Q

By Adriano Marchese

Toronto stocks were moderately higher Tuesday.

Most sectors were lower in the session, offset by gains mainly in commercial services and energy. Tech services, process industries and health tech stocks were the main laggards.

Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index was 0.09% higher at 21551.03 and the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 rose by 0.18% to 1300.21.

Canada's official international reserves decreased to $116.25 billion in February, a decline from $116.3 billion the month before, driven by a loss on investments that was largely offset by reserves-management funding operations.

Pet Valu Holdings shares were down by 4.9% to 28.49 Canadian dollars ($20.99) after it said that same-store sales growth rose at a slower pace in the fourth quarter than a year ago. The Canadian pet-products retailer still reported a rise in profit and revenue in the challenging consumer environment.

Other market movers:

Ballard Power Systems received an order for 15 megawatts of fuel cell systems from a U.K.-based company specializing in renewable off-grid power generation. Shares were down 1.8% to C$4.28.

Shares of Vizsla Copper were down nearly 17% at C$0.08 after it said it raised C$1.5 million in a non-brokered private placement of units which include one share and a warrant that can be redeemable at C$0.12 a share over the next three years.

Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 05, 2024 12:40 ET (17:40 GMT)

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