Canadian stocks staged a sharp recovery on Thursday, ending their four-day losing streak, after significantly softer-than-expected U.S. consumer inflation figures and weak manufacturing data that renewed hopes for earlier interest rate cuts in 2026. The S&P/TSX Composite Index inched up by 191 points, or 0.6%, for the day to settle at 31,441 — trimming its weekly losses to 0.3%.
Despite a downside reversal in the healthcare sector, solid gains in interest rate-sensitive real estate, technology, and financial stocks helped power a strong rebound in the TSX.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Shares of NFI Group (TSX: NFI) led the market rally by surging 7.2% to $15.50 apiece. This rally in NFI stock came after the company announced a leadership transition, with John Sapp set to take over as CEO from long-time chief Paul Soubry in January.
NFI investors appeared encouraged by Sapp’s strong background in large-scale manufacturing and operations. In addition, the stock also continued to benefit from momentum built in the previous session, when NFI unveiled a settlement with XALT that is expected to recover most of its battery recall costs. On a year-to-date basis, NFI now trades with 11% gains.
Aritzia, NGEx Minerals, and Energy Fuels were also among the top gainers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with each climbing by at least 3.8%.
In contrast, Curaleaf Holdings (TSX: CURA), which had jumped over 75% in the previous four sessions, dived 32% on Thursday to settle at $4.41 per share. This steep drop in CURA stock followed a euphoric rally sparked by hopes of President Trump’s announcement to reschedule cannabis to a less restrictive category.
While the expectations about the news initially fueled optimism about reduced taxes and better access to research funding, some investors apparently saw the gains as overdone and locked in profits. Despite the recent decline, however, Curaleaf stock is still up 97% on a year-to-date basis.
Discovery Silver, BRP, and Enerflex also fell more than 4% each, making them among the session’s worst-performing TSX stocks.
Based on their daily trade volume, Canadian Natural Resources, Telus, Cenovus Energy, B2Gold, and TC Energy were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Most commodities, except copper, fell sharply in early trading on Friday, which could put some pressure on the TSX at the open today.
Besides the domestic retail sales numbers, Canadian investors will closely monitor the important PCE (personal consumption expenditure) price index and existing home sales data from the United States this morning.
These U.S. indicators act as key inputs for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions and could influence near-term market sentiment on both sides of the border.
Market movers on the TSX today
