The selloff in Canadian equities accelerated on Friday after U.S. president Donald Trump warned China over what he called an “especially hostile” move to impose sweeping export controls on rare earth elements and other key industrial materials. The concerns of further escalation in the U.S.-China trade war, coupled with significantly better-than-expected Canadian employment data, triggered a sharp shift in interest rate expectations, leading to a broad market pullback. The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 419 points, or 1.4%, to close at 29,851– marking its worst one-day performance in over six months.
While utility stocks witnessed renewed buying amid heightened geopolitical tensions and shifting rate expectations, most other TSX sectors, such as technology, energy, and financials, closed deep in the red.
In his social media post on October 10, Trump accused Beijing of attempting to hold the world “captive” by leveraging its dominance in strategic resources. He added that the U.S. is preparing a “massive increase of tariffs” on Chinese goods and is considering “many other countermeasures.”
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Baytex Energy, Curaleaf, Shopify, and BlackBerry dived by at least 7.4% each, making them the worst-performing TSX stocks for the day.
Despite the broader market selloff, however, Aritzia (TSX:ATZ) stood out as the top-performing TSX stock with its shares jumping over 8% to $86 apiece. This rally in ATZ stock came a day after the fashion retailer posted solid fiscal 2026 second-quarter (three months ended in August) financial results. Last quarter, its net revenue surged 31.9% year over year with the help of 21.6% comparable sales growth and exceptional strength in its U.S. business, where revenue climbed over 40%.
As a result, Aritzia’s quarterly net profit soared 263% from a year ago to $66.3 million. The company also maintained an upbeat tone for the rest of the year, citing strong momentum across its digital and retail channels. These factors seemingly acted as key drivers behind ATZ stock’s sharp move higher, extending its year-to-date gains to over 60%.
Perpetua Resources, Northland Power, and Richelieu Hardware were also among the session’s top gainers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with each jumping by at least 2.6%.
Based on their daily trade volume, TD Bank, Canadian Natural Resources, Baytex Energy, Cenovus Energy, and Denison Mines were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Spot gold prices kept their record rally going in early Tuesday trading, but most other commodities were under pressure as investors weighed the economic fallout of rising geopolitical tensions and renewed trade uncertainty. Given these mixed signals, the resource-heavy TSX could open on a volatile note today.
While no major domestic economic releases are due this morning, Canadian investors will closely watch the Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s remarks on economic outlook and monetary policy at the National Association for Business Economics in the afternoon.
In addition, new developments in the U.S.-China trade standoff could further sway market sentiment.
Market movers on the TSX today
