Canadian stocks continued to fall sharply for the second consecutive session on Friday as West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures prices jumped by more than 16% in a single day to around US$91 per barrel amid expanding Middle East conflicts after the recent strikes on Iran by the U.S. and Israel. These geopolitical tensions, coupled with surging Treasury yields, led to a steep decline of 526 points, or 1.6%, in the S&P/TSX Composite Index to close at 33,084.
While select consumer staples and utility stocks saw renewed buying interest, massive intraday declines in other key sectors like consumer cyclicals, industrials, and financials weighed heavily on the benchmark and overshadowed gains in defensive names.
With this, the TSX index concluded the week with a 3.7% drop, marking its biggest percentage decline in five weeks.
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Shares of Methanex (TSX:MX) plunged 13.4% to $67.03 apiece, making it the worst-performing TSX stock for the day. This selloff in MX stock came after the Vancouver-headquartered methanol producer reported a fourth-quarter loss and weaker profitability. For the December quarter, the company posted a net loss of $89 million compared to a $7 million loss in the previous quarter, largely due to an $82 million non-cash impairment charge related to its New Zealand operations.
Methanex’s average realized methanol price fell to $331 per tonne last quarter, while its adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) slipped to $186 million. Although the firm’s production rose to 2.36 million tonnes, lower pricing and higher costs weighed on its earnings.
Algonquin Power & Utilities, Bitfarms, and Linamar also plunged by over 7% each, making them among the day’s bottom performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Despite the broader market selloff, Aecon Group (TSX:ARE) jumped 7.5% to $40.81 per share as it reported strong full-year results, including record revenue and improved profitability. In 2025, the company’s revenue climbed 28% to a record of about $5.4 billion with the help of broad strength across its construction segment, particularly in nuclear, civil, and utilities work.
Aecon’s operating profit also swung to $87.1 million in 2025 from an operating loss in 2024, while its adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to about $235 million. In addition, the company signalled expectations for 2026 revenue to exceed 2025 levels based on its robust backlog and diverse project pipeline. On a year-to-date basis, ARE stock is now up 29%.
Constellation Software, Curaleaf, and Strathcona Resources also inched up by at least 4.2% each, making them among the day’s top-performing TSX stocks.
Based on their daily trade volume, Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus Energy, Suncor Energy, Capstone Copper, and Baytex Energy were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
The rally in WTI crude oil accelerated further in early morning trade on Monday as the escalating U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran triggered fresh supply concerns across the global energy market. Oil prices surged to their highest levels in more than three years after several Middle Eastern producers began cutting output amid disruptions to exports and shipping routes.
For the resource-heavy TSX, elevated crude prices may provide support to energy producers at the open today, although broader investor sentiment will remain cautious as geopolitical uncertainties continue to unfold.
While no major economic releases are due this morning, the TSX-listed Constellation Software will announce its latest quarterly results today, which could keep its shares in focus throughout the session.
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