Canada's flagship equity index, the S&P/TSX Composite, closed Thursday at 35,874.26, marking a gain of 382.99 points or 1.08%. This represented the benchmark's strongest one-day advance in two weeks, propelled by a robust rally in mining and utility shares, even as declining crude oil prices and weakness in telecommunications stocks tempered the overall upward move.
The positive close erased the previous session's 90.80-point drop and left the index up 1.04% over the past five trading days. Market breadth was decidedly positive, with 649 Toronto-listed stocks advancing, 291 declining, and 75 unchanged, according to end-of-session data. The intraday range, as reported by Yahoo's delayed feed, stretched from 35,724.62 to 35,920.13.
Thursday's rally was supported by a modest retreat in bond yields, with the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield easing to 4.947% from 5.006% the prior day. This helped alleviate some of the discount-rate pressure that had weighed on equities following Wednesday's Federal Reserve policy announcement. Importantly, the Fed raised its target range by 25 basis points to 3.75%–4.00%, so Thursday's equity gains were a repricing of yield expectations and risk appetite rather than a reversal of monetary tightening.
The materials sector was the clear leader, with precious metals shares rebounding from the prior session's selloff. According to Reuters, the sector climbed 3.5% during Thursday's trading. Among the standout performers were Americas Gold and Silver, which closed up 10.61% at C$7.09, and Discovery Mining, which advanced 9.95% to C$12.27. These were the two strongest S&P/TSX Composite constituents in the closing data.
Utilities also contributed to the rally, benefiting from the lower rate environment. Capital Power rose 3.59% to C$61.70, while TransAlta gained 2.69% to C$17.18. In contrast, telecom stocks moved in the opposite direction: Rogers Communications fell 2.21% to C$49.17, and Quebecor's Class B shares declined 1.58% to C$63.69. This divergence underscores that the index's advance was not uniform across all sectors.
Oil prices provided a notable counterweight. West Texas Intermediate crude traded near US$101.13 after the Toronto close, below its previous settlement, while the Canadian dollar was little changed at US$0.7148. The TSX's heavy resource weighting means that a metals rally can lift the index even when oil-linked cash flow expectations soften. Should precious metals give back Thursday's gains, the market's support could quickly erode.
Despite the strong session, the index remains 1,083.37 points, or 2.93%, below its August 25 peak of 36,957.63. Year-to-date, the benchmark is still up 13.12% in 2026. The bullish case rests on the breadth of Thursday's advance and lower bond yields, but skeptics note that the largest gains were concentrated in volatile metal names, while oil, telecoms, and domestic inflation concerns remain unresolved.
On the domestic policy front, the Bank of Canada's September deliberations summary reiterated that inflation has been above its 2% target for several months and is likely to remain so in the near term. The central bank held its overnight rate at 2.25%. Governor Tiff Macklem is scheduled to speak in Halifax on September 21, which will be closely watched for any policy signals. For the TSX, the immediate test is whether materials can sustain their gains if bond yields stop falling.
