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TSX up 152 Points at Midday, Led by Gains in Tech Stocks and Financials

-- The Toronto Stock Exchange is up 152 points at midday, climbing back over the 34,000 mark, with tech stocks (+3.3%) the best performer, followed by financials (+0.7%).

Energy, pulled down by lower oil prices, is the biggest decliner, down 2.3%.

In domestic news, Prime Minister Mark Carney, who now has a Liberal majority after winning three byelections on Monday, announced this morning that Canada will suspend a federal fuel tax on diesel and gasoline until Labour Day.

In company news, Chemtrade Logistics (CHE-UN.TO) units have plunged 17.4% to $14.67 after it reported that a rezoning application for its facility in North Vancouver, B.C., was rejected. The facility is the largest producer of liquid chlorine to treat drinking water in Canada, producing over 40% of the country's supply.

The market just wrapped up a relatively solid quarter, marked by economic and geopolitical uncertainty, ending with Canadian stocks in the green, Morningstar wrote recently.

The Morningstar Canada Index is up over 5% in the year to date and nearly 50% over the past 12 months, led by the energy and basic materials sectors. Amid the market turbulence, it said four stocks in the telecom, consumer cyclical, and industrials sectors look the most undervalued.

These are Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO), Gildan Activewear (GIL.TO), Rogers Communications (RCI-B.TO) and Telus (T.TO). Morningstar analysts think these stocks have a "narrow economic moat", meaning they should maintain a competitive edge for the next 10 years.

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Research Alert: CFRA Keeps Strong Buy Opinion On Shares Of Baker Hughes

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:We raise our 12-month target price by $14 to $82, reflecting a combination of our sum-of-the-parts (SOTP) and DCF models. For our SOTP model, we presume the oilfield services business (about 50% of BKR's franchise) to be valued at about 10x projected 2027 EBITDA (in line with major peers) and its industrial energy technology business (the other 50%) valued at 14x projected 2027 EBITDA (in line with the peer median). This blended approach, yielding a 12x multiple, implies a value of $73 per share. Meanwhile, our DCF model, using medium-term free cash flow growth of 5% per year, terminal growth of 2.5%, discounted at a WACC of 6.3%, yields intrinsic value of $91 per share. We cut our 2026 EPS estimate by $0.47 to $2.48, but we raise 2027's by $0.07 to $3.24. We acknowledge that the oilfield services business is likely to struggle in 2026 owing to the U.S.-Iran conflict, but the IET business appears quite robust and likely to be a source of both accelerating revenue growth and margins.

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Research Alert: CFRA Maintains Hold Opinion In Shares Of Wab

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:We lift our 12-month target to $285 from $275 following WAB's Q1 earnings print, valuing shares at 24.2x our 2027 EPS outlook of $11.76 (revised from $11.46; 2026 EPS estimate up to $10.57 from $10.50), a slight premium to WAB's long-term historical multiple average given structural improvements in earnings quality. While we are cautious on signs of overcapacity in the freight market, an elevated order backlog (12-month sits at over $9 billion), internal initiatives to shore up margins, and potential synergies from M&A activity positions WAB to continue growing earnings at double-digit rates in 2026-2027, in our view. Despite tariff-related cost pressures, WAB has done a commendable job of defending margins via a mix of pricing, lean manufacturing, and pruning of lower-profit operations. Q1 results were mixed but overall positive, in our view. We maintain our Hold recommendation on shares.

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