After a flat start and a subsequent notable drop, the Canadian market recovered gradually and was down just marginally about a couple of hours past noon on Thursday. Healthcare, consumer staples, utilities, and financial stocks were among the notable losers, while technology stocks moved higher in line with the global tech rally following Nvidia’s upbeat earnings and guidance. Lingering concerns regarding geopolitical tensions and the possibility of a Federal Reserve rate hike this year tempered investor sentiment, keeping the mood cautious.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which had dropped to an intraday low earlier in the session, was down just 12.52 points at 36,801.13. On the economic data front, Statistics Canada announced that Canada’s current account balance swung to a surplus of C$8.8 billion in the second quarter of 2026, reversing a deficit of C$8.3 billion in the prior quarter, though this missed forecasts for a C$2 billion shortfall. Separately, data from the agency showed that wages in Canada increased by 3.4% in June over the same month in the previous year.
In corporate news, Toronto-Dominion Bank reported net income available to common shareholders of C$4.521 billion, or C$2.74 per share, for the third quarter, up from C$3.248 billion, or C$1.89 per share, a year earlier, with the stock climbing about 1%. Conversely, Royal Bank of Canada shed 1.7% after posting third-quarter net income of C$5.879 billion, up 11% from C$5.290 billion a year ago, with earnings per share increasing 13% to C$4.23.
On the movers front, Interfor and BlackBerry surged 7.5% and 7.3%, respectively. Descartes Systems Group, Aecon, Celestica, Western Forest Products, Kinaxis, OpenText, First Majestic Silver, Thomson Reuters, Canfor, Pan American Silver Corp., Computer Modelling, Fortuna Silver Mines, Finning International, and Lightspeed Commerce all gained between 3% and 4.5%. BRP, West Fraser Timber, Ensign Energy Services, Constellation Software, Mattr Corp., Shopify, Eldorado Gold, Vermilion Energy, Baytex Energy, CGI Inc., Lundin Mining, OceanaGold, Torex Gold Resources, Pason Systems, Parex Resources, and Dorel Industries also moved up sharply. Meanwhile, EQB, CIBC, Aritzia, Bausch Health Companies, Element Financial, Tilray, ATS Automation Tooling Systems, ATCO, Quebecor, Onex, Real Matters, and CAE declined sharply.
