Canadian stocks continued to rally for the third consecutive session on Thursday as slightly hotter-than-expected U.S. consumer inflation data failed to shake investor confidence, with markets betting that the reading wasn’t strong enough to delay rate cuts. The S&P/TSX Composite Index jumped by 229 points, or 0.8%, to settle at 29,408 — posting a fresh all-time high and rising for the 11th time in the last 12 sessions.
Nearly all key market sectors ended the session in the green, but the TSX rally was mainly led by solid gains in consumer, industrial, and financial stocks.
While the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.4% in August and 2.9% year over year, investors largely shrugged it off after a weaker wholesale inflation print earlier in the week strengthened expectations of imminent rate cuts.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
First Majestic Silver, Aecon Group, Atkinsrealis Group, and Bird Construction were the top-performing TSX stocks for the day, with each climbing by at least 6.9%.
Despite broader market optimism, Vermilion Energy, SECURE Waste Infrastructure, Celestica, and MDA Space slid by at least 2.8% each, making them the session’s worst performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Shares of Empire Company (TSX: EMP.A) also fell over 1% to $50.99 apiece after the Stellarton-headquartered grocer posted mixed first-quarter (ended August 2) results for its fiscal year 2026. The company’s adjusted earnings figure of $0.91 per share exceeded Street analysts’ expectations.
Although Empire’s same-store food sales grew 1.9% and gross margin improved last quarter, higher labour and incentive costs weighed on its profits. In addition, the company’s fuel sales fell sharply as lower pump prices dragged segment results, hurting investor sentiment. Despite the recent weakness, however, Empire Company stock is still up over 16% on a year-to-date basis.
Based on their daily trade volume, Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus Energy, ARC Resources, Whitecap Resources, and Pembina Pipeline were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
After taking a breather in the previous session, commodity prices across the board resumed their upward trend in early Friday trading. Spot gold edged higher to new record levels, while crude oil prices rebounded on signs of tightening supplies. Given these developments, Canadian resource stocks could extend their gains at the open today and help the TSX build on its record-setting streak.
While no major economic or corporate releases are due today, equities on both sides of the border may remain volatile ahead of next week’s Bank of Canada and Federal Reserve policy decisions. In the meantime, sector-specific momentum — especially in commodities — could continue to drive intraday trading.
Market movers on the TSX today
