After falling for two consecutive sessions, Canadian equities staged a sharp recovery on Wednesday as the latest minutes of the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) signaled that policymakers remain open to another rate cut in December. These policy signals, coupled with strengthening commodity prices, drove the S&P/TSX Composite Index up by 242 points, or 0.8%, to 30,278.
Even as the healthcare sector ended the session in the red, strong gains in technology, mining, and energy stocks lifted the broader market. Shares of tech firms saw renewed momentum ahead of Nvidia’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) earnings release after the closing bell — an event watched even more closely after recent concerns about stretched valuations across artificial intelligence (AI)-linked stocks.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
MDA Space, G Mining Ventures, Celestica, and AtkinsRéalis were the top-performing TSX stocks for the day, with each climbing by at least 4.9%.
Shares of Metro (TSX:MRU) also traded positively after the grocery and pharmacy giant posted solid fourth-quarter (ended in September) results, with its adjusted earnings climbing 10.8% year over year to $1.13 per share, exceeding Bay Street analysts’ expectations.
Last quarter, Metro’s total sales rose 3.4%, boosted by strong pharmacy same-store sales and stable food retail performance. Even with a temporary shutdown at its frozen food distribution centre impacting net earnings, the company highlighted that operations have now resumed and are expected to normalize by year-end. On a year-to-date basis, MRU stock is now up nearly 10%.
On the flip side, Allied Properties REIT and Bausch Health were among the day’s bottom performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with each slipping by at least 2%.
According to the exchange’s daily trade volume data, Cenovus Energy, Canadian Natural Resources, Telus, Enbridge, and Whitecap Resources were the five most active stocks.
TSX today
After rallying sharply in the previous session, commodity prices were largely mixed in early trading on Thursday, suggesting a relatively flat open for the TSX today.
While no major domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors will closely monitor the latest labour market, manufacturing, and existing home sales data from the U.S. this morning.
Investors reacted positively to Nvidia’s stronger-than-expected quarterly results, which showed record revenue and continued momentum in the global AI cycle. The chipmaker reported record revenue of US$57.0 billion, up 62% from a year ago, with the help of surging demand for its Blackwell data centre GPUs.
NVDA’s data centre sales alone soared to US$51.2 billion, marking another all-time high. The earnings beat sent Nvidia shares up over 5% in after-hours trading on Wednesday, a move that could help support sentiment in TSX-listed tech stocks today — especially those tied to data-center, semiconductor, and AI infrastructure demand.
Market movers on the TSX today
