By Adriano Marchese

Toronto stocks were lower Thursday mid-session, struggling to rebound from Wednesday's drop after the U.S. Federal Reserve offered a hawkish guidance along with its 25 basis-point rate cut. Sector performance was mixed, but transportation, health services and materials stocks were the main laggards, offsetting gains in health technology, distribution services and more distantly, from the tech sector.

Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.1% to 24537.25 and the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 declined 0.1% to 1472.55.

Vermilion Energy shares rose by 2.9% to 12.85 Canadian dollars ($8.89) after the Canadian energy company's targets for 2025 beat market expectations. The company also said it would increase its dividend by 8%.

Other market movers:

Goeasy shares rose 3.5% to C$163.95 after the company announced its intentions to renew its program to buy back up to 10% of its stock over the course of a one-year period.

Lithium Royalty's shares rose by over 10% to C$5.95 after the Canadian company said it plans to buy back shares following a deal to sell down its revenue royalty on its lithium brine project in Argentina for $28 million.

NuVista Energy shares fell 2.2% to C$12.49 after National Bank of Canada analyst said peers offer better valuation, and downgraded the stock to sector perform from outperform.

Lion Electric received creditor protection by a Quebec court and was approved to pursue a sale and solicitation process as the ailing maker of electric trucks and buses looks to restructure the business. Shares are halted from trading at C$0.35.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 19, 2024 12:13 ET (17:13 GMT)

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