TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange:
Toronto Stock Exchange (19,129.07, up 24.93 points.)
Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B). Industrials. Down one cent, or 0.99 per cent, to $1.00 on 13 million shares.
The Toronto-Dominion Bank. (TSX:TD). Financials. Up 21 cents, or 0.25 per cent, to $83.66 on 10.7 million shares.
TC Energy Corp. (TSX:TRP). Energy. Up 47 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $59.48 on 10 million shares.
Manulife Financial Corp. (TSX:MFC). Financials. Down seven cents, or 0.26 per cent, to $27.33 on 9.7 million shares.
ARC Resources Ltd. (TSX:ARX). Energy. Down 12 cents, or 1.55 per cent, to $7.64 on 7.3 million shares.
The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS). Down 10 cents, or 0.13 per cent, to $78.08 on 6.5 million shares.
Companies in the news:
Shaw Communications Inc. (TSX:SJR.B). Up 13 cents to $33.36. Freedom Mobile and its parent Shaw Communications Inc. will not participate in an upcoming wireless spectrum auction deemed crucial for the development of 5G networks. The two companies do not appear on a list published by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) of telcos that have applied to participate in the June 15 spectrum auction. The 3,500 megahertz auction will provide winning bidders with the capacity to build out and speed up their 5G wireless networks, which are being rolled out around the world. There had already been doubt about whether Freedom could continue to put competitive pressure on the three biggest wireless companies when the family that controls Shaw struck a deal in March for the company to be bought by Rogers Communications Inc. for $26 billion.
Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB). Up 12 cents to $46.37. The CEOs of Canada's two biggest pipeline companies say they are focused on lowering their operating greenhouse gas emissions while avoiding big oil pipeline projects in the wake of ongoing opposition throughout North America. Both Francois Poirier of TC Energy Corp. and Al Monaco of Enbridge Inc. told the virtual 2021 Scotiabank CAPP Energy Symposium on Wednesday that repositioning their companies to account for the global energy transition to cleaner fuels is among their top priorities. The decision by President Joe Biden to cancel TC Energy's Keystone XL pipeline permit in January was disappointing, but Poirier said TC Energy is building on learnings from the environmental commitment it made just days before the decision. Meanwhile, Monaco said regulatory and political obstacles to building pipelines are expected to continue to make new pipelines hard to build, which is something that should benefit current Enbridge investors. Both companies are intent on buying or building renewable electricity sources for their pipeline pump stations and compression systems, the CEOs said.
Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO). Up 74 cents to $113.83. BMO Financial Group's chief executive says the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed his bank to get more serious about artificial intelligence, diversity and climate change. BMO spent the first year of the health crisis focused on helping customers facing unprecedented challenges, but Darryl White said Wednesday that it also sought opportunities to "grow the good." White attributed some of that strength to artificial intelligence, which he said allowed BMO to model more lending scenarios and access deeper and increasingly sophisticated pools of data. The technology helped customers make quicker and better decisions as they grappled with layoffs, lower investment rates and mortgage deferral needs. White and the bank didn't just see opportunities in AI. The pandemic also delivered chances to increase the bank's diversity and commitments around climate change. BMO recently introduced a series of targets aimed at increasing the representation of women, employees with disabilities and workers who are Black, Latino, LGBTQ+ or Indigenous by 2025.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 7, 2021.
The Canadian Press