Canadian equities staged a recovery for the second consecutive session on Tuesday as investors continued to closely monitor developments related to the ongoing U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict, which has kept global financial markets highly sensitive to geopolitical headlines. The S&P/TSX Composite Index advanced by 81 points, or 0.2%, for the day to settle at 33,271.
Although the Iran war has raised concerns about disruptions to energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a pullback in oil prices during the session helped ease some inflation fears. Even as technology and industrial stocks fell sharply after Treasury bond yields climbed to their highest level in over six months, strong gains in many other key sectors, including mining, financials, and healthcare, helped the TSX benchmark inch up.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
G Mining Ventures, Silvercorp Metals, Denison Mines, and MDA Space were the day’s top-performing TSX stocks, with each climbing by at least 5.8%.
In contrast, goeasy (TSX:GSY) crashed by 7% to $49.72 per share after the Mississauga-based lending firm warned of a sharp spike in loan losses and withdrew its financial outlook. The company now expects to record an incremental $178 million charge-off in the fourth quarter, bringing its total net charge-offs for the quarter to about $331 million, along with an $86 million increase in its allowance for credit losses.
goeasy also anticipates its full-year 2025 net charge-off rate to reach roughly 12.9%, with losses expected to rise further into the mid-teens in 2026. The company also suspended its quarterly dividend and halted share buybacks to preserve capital. These concerns added to investor concerns about near-term financial pressure, leading to a massive selloff in GSY stock.
Thomson Reuters, Colliers International, and Methanex were also among the session’s bottom performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, as they slipped by at least 4.8% each.
Based on their daily trade volume, Canadian Natural Resources, Suncor Energy, Cenovus Energy, Telus, and Manulife Financial were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures prices continued to ease in early Wednesday trading, but investors remained cautious as the conflict in the Middle East showed no clear signs of de-escalation. Fresh reports of missile strikes and attacks on vessels in Gulf waters highlighted ongoing risks to global energy supply routes. These developments could keep the TSX volatile at the open today despite the pullback in crude prices.
While no major domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors will closely monitor the latest monthly consumer inflation report this morning from the United States for further clues about the direction of interest rates. A hotter-than-expected reading could reinforce concerns about persistent inflation and keep bond yields elevated, which may pressure growth-oriented stocks.
On the corporate events side, several TSX-listed companies, including Bird Construction, Labrador Iron Ore Royalty, Aris Mining, Descartes Systems, NFI Group, Strathcona Resources, and Freehold Royalties, are scheduled to release their latest quarterly results today, which could drive stock-specific movements across the market.