Top TSX Stocks

No. The TSX is an exchange where securities are listed and traded. The S&P/TSX Composite is an index designed to measure the performance of a portion of the Canadian equity market.

Not every TSX-listed security belongs to the S&P/TSX Composite. Index constituents must meet the methodology's eligibility requirements.

No. Although the TSX is Canada's senior stock exchange, both Canadian and international companies can list there.

A TSX listing therefore tells you where a security trades, not necessarily where the underlying company is incorporated or conducts most of its business.

That depends on the brokerage. Some U.S. brokers provide direct access to Canadian exchanges, while others may offer only Canadian companies that also trade on a U.S. exchange.

Many TSX issuers are interlisted internationally, so investors should make sure they are looking at the intended security, exchange and trading currency before placing an order.

Some companies maintain listings on more than one exchange to reach a broader investor base and improve access to capital and trading liquidity. TMX refers to TSX or TSXV securities that also trade on an international exchange as interlisted securities.

Although the securities may represent an ownership interest in the same company, their quoted prices can differ because they trade in different currencies and marketplaces.

Canadian dollars are the standard trading currency for most TSX-listed securities, and MarketBeat displays prices on this page in Canadian dollars.

However, TMX also maintains a list of securities available for trading in U.S. currency, so investors should verify the trading currency of the specific security they intend to buy.

Market capitalization measures the market value of a company's outstanding shares. Ranking stocks by market cap can help investors identify larger companies and compare their relative size.

Size alone does not indicate valuation, financial strength or future performance. Investors can pair market cap with measures such as the P/E ratio, earnings performance, dividends and other company fundamentals when researching a stock.

The price-to-earnings ratio shows how much investors are paying for each dollar of a company's reported earnings, while analyst consensus ratings and price targets summarize the views of analysts covering the stock.

Neither measure should be considered in isolation. P/E ratios can vary substantially by industry, and analyst ratings and price targets are opinions that can change as expectations and company results change.

An interlisted company has securities trading on the TSX or TSXV and on another international exchange. For example, a Canadian company might trade in Canadian dollars on the TSX and have shares traded in U.S. dollars on the NYSE.

Investors should pay attention to the exchange, ticker and currency because similar ticker symbols do not necessarily represent the exact same type of security.

The TSX's regular continuous trading session runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time on trading days. The exchange also has a pre-open session beginning at 7 a.m., during which orders can be entered but regular continuous trading has not yet started.