Toronto Financing Activity Plunges 54% With IPOs in Deep Freeze

New equity issues on the Toronto Stock Exchange fell 54% in the first half of the year, with the market for initial public offerings stuck in a major slump.

(Bloomberg) — New equity issues on the Toronto Stock Exchange fell 54% in the first half of the year, with the market for initial public offerings stuck in a major slump.

Companies raised a total of C$5.4 billion ($4.1 billion) on Canada’s largest equity exchange in six months, compared with C$11.8 billion in the same period a year earlier, parent TMX Group Ltd. said Tuesday.

Just C$386 million was raised in initial public offerings, down 80%. One IPO of more than C$100 million was completed, according to data compiled by Bloomberg — Lithium Royalty Corp.’s offering in March.

Canada’s major equity benchmark, the S&P/TSX Composite, is up 2.4% this year, a lackluster performance compared with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500. Energy and financial shares have slumped; the two categories make up almost half of the Canadian index.

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