TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange:
Toronto Stock Exchange (20,286.20, up 88.59 points.)
Manulife Financial Corp. (TSX:MFC). Financials. Up two cents, or 0.1 per cent, to $22.45 on 39.2 million shares.
Western Energy Services Corp. (TSX:WRG). Energy. Up one cent, or 33.3 per cent, to four cents, on 14.5 million shares.
Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB). Energy. Up 39 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to $57.56 on 12.3 million shares.
Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU). Energy. Up 74 cents, or 1.5 per cent, to $49.61 on 11.1 million shares.
Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSX:SLF). Financials. Up $1.02, or 1.7 per cent, to $62.58 on 9.6 million shares.
Crescent Point Energy Corp. (TSX:CPG). Energy. Up 60 cents, or 6.2 per cent, to $10.31 on 9.1 million shares.
Business news:
Storm insurance: Keri Lewis has a double insurance maze to navigate. Both her home and her workplace in Ottawa were hit hard by Saturday’s storm, which ripped through parts of Ontario and Quebec, uprooting trees, cutting power to nearly 900,000 homes and leaving at least 10 people dead. Insurance claims are expected to rise following the deadly storm that swept across Central Canada last weekend, with those affected waiting hours on hold and worrying about basics ranging from income to food security. The devastation is too recent to project insurance claim tallies, but home, auto and business insurance will play a key role in the recovery, said Anne Marie Thomas, director of consumer and industry relations with the Insurance Bureau of Canada. Most home and auto insurance plans cover wind- or storm-induced damage. Those looking for compensation should reach out to their own insurer first, regardless of whether it was a neighbour’s tree or a Hydro One pole that came crashing down, insurers say.
Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO). Up $2.13 or 1.6 per cent to $133.05. Canada’s banks are gearing up to release their latest quarterly results amid a volatile backdrop. Analysts are expecting tempered results as the banks navigate soaring inflation, rising interest rates, housing risks and a stock market sell-off. When the banks begin reporting this week, analysts expect to see lending volumes continuing to show strength, driven by mortgage growth and the hot housing market, which is now starting to cool. Barclays analyst John Aiken also expects a “bonanza of dividend hikes” this week. The Bank of Montreal and Scotiabank will be the first of the big Canadian banks to report their results on Wednesday. CIBC, RBC and TD Bank will release their results on Thursday and National Bank will round things out on Friday. Cormark Securities analyst Lemar Persaud is taking a cautious view on the Canadian banking sector going into second-quarter earnings and says this week’s results could lead to “negative earnings revisions” around loan growth and fee income growth in wealth management and investment banking, as well as credit losses.
Mortgage alternatives: Canadian homebuyers are increasingly considering credit unions and private lenders to secure mortgages as rates rise, brokers say. They are seeing more Canadians drawn to these lenders as fixed mortgage rates have crept to about four per cent in recent months in many provinces and territories. Because the qualifying rate on uninsured mortgages under Canada’s stress test is either two percentage points above the contract rate, or 5.25 per cent, whichever is greater, more borrowers are now having to qualify at a higher rate for mortgages from traditional lenders like banks. However, credit unions and private lenders are often able to offer more competitive rates, even to clients who don’t qualify for mortgages offered by traditional lenders. Insurance and financial website Ratesdotca says credit unions and private lenders made up about 3.7 per cent of the country’s mortgage business last year and have already handled about 6.7 per cent so far this year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2022.