Canadian stocks trended lower on Tuesday as falling commodity prices, hotter-than-expected U.S. consumer inflation data, largely mixed corporate earnings, and a spike in Treasury bond yields prompted investors to book profits following the previous session’s strong rally. The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped by 276 points, or 0.8%, to settle at 36,170 – trimming its quarter-to-date gains to 2.7%.
Despite renewed buying in the utility sector, steep declines in mining, consumer cyclical, and technology stocks dragged the TSX benchmark lower.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
NovaGold Resources, Americas Gold and Silver, Perpetua Resources, GFL Environmental, and Energy Fuels were the worst-performing TSX stocks for the day, with each diving by at least 7.2%.
Finning International (TSX: FTT) also plunged by 6.4% to $89.08 per share, placing it among the day’s bottom performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange. This selloff in FTT stock came after the Vancouver-based heavy equipment dealer released its third-quarter 2026 financial results.
Finning’s revenue rose 7% year-over-year in the September quarter, backed by strong equipment sales and demand for parts and services in Canada. However, its earnings before interest and taxes increased by just 1%, while operating profit margin narrowed to 8% from 8.5% a year ago, reflecting pressure on profitability, especially in Canada. Despite reporting a record $4.1 billion equipment order backlog, weaker profit margins and slower earnings growth drove FTT stock lower.
Trisura Group, Paramount Resources, Kinaxis, and International Petroleum were the session’s top-performing TSX stocks, as they climbed by at least 3% each.
According to the exchange’s daily trade volume data, Enbridge, Telus, B2Gold, Canadian Natural Resources, and Whitecap Resources were the five most active stocks.
TSX today
After falling sharply in the last session, gold, silver, and copper prices staged a recovery in early Wednesday trading, which could lift the resource-heavy main TSX index at the open today, with expected gains in mining shares.
While no major economic releases are due this morning, Canadian investors will continue to assess the outlook for interest rates and geopolitical developments, which could influence commodity prices and broader market sentiment.
The Bank of Canada’s latest policy meeting summary, released Tuesday, revealed that officials considered keeping the benchmark interest rate at 2.25% before ultimately raising it to 2.5% in October amid concerns about persistent inflation.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that Washington saw no immediate need to resume major military operations against Iran, although continued attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz highlighted lingering geopolitical risks.
On the trade front, Prime Minister Mark Carney reiterated that the Trump administration would remain Canada’s main negotiating partner despite the Democrats’ recent U.S. midterm election victories.
TSX investors will also monitor quarterly earnings from Cargojet, Power Corporation of Canada, OR Royalties, Bird Construction, CAE, Franco-Nevada, Boyd Group Services, and CGI, which are scheduled to report today.