Strong banking sector earnings helped Canadian stocks surge to new heights on Tuesday as investors seemingly shrugged off geopolitical uncertainty and fears of escalating Canada-U.S. trade tensions. The S&P/TSX Composite Index jumped by 244 points, or 0.7%, to settle at a new all-time high of 36,958, marking its third straight winning session.
Even as several key market sectors like consumer cyclicals, energy, and industrials posted steep declines, solid intraday gains in mining, technology, and financial stocks lifted the TSX benchmark to a fresh record high.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS) surged by 7% to $128.73 per share to post its biggest single-day percentage gain in over six years. This spectacular rally in BNS stock came after the bank reported a record third quarter of its fiscal year 2026 (ended in July).
Notably, Scotiabank’s adjusted net income jumped 18% year over year in the July quarter to roughly $3 billion, while adjusted earnings rose to $2.28 per share from $1.88 a year ago. The Canadian lending giant’s adjusted return on equity also improved to 14.2%, exceeding its medium-term target. Solid results across all major business lines, including record earnings from its global wealth management and global banking and markets segments, boosted investor confidence.
Energy Fuels, Southern Cross Gold, and Seabridge Gold were also among the day’s top gainers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with each climbing 5.5%.
In contrast, Imperial Oil, Thomson Reuters, Cenovus Energy, and Bird Construction slipped by at least 3.9% each, making them the worst-performing TSX stocks for the day.
Based on their daily trade volume, Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus Energy, Enbridge, Scotiabank, and B2Gold were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Crude oil and gold prices fell in early trading on Wednesday, which could pressure the commodity-heavy TSX index at the open today.
This volatility in commodity markets comes as investors continue to weigh escalating U.S.-Iran tensions and the widening Canada-U.S. trade dispute. While China has pushed back against Washington’s expanded sanctions on Iran, Tehran has threatened retaliation and further disruption to key energy routes if pressure intensifies.
At the same time, Canada has announced retaliatory tariffs on about $27.6 billion of U.S. goods, along with $7.5 billion in support for affected workers and businesses. These developments could keep TSX energy, mining, industrial, and auto-related stocks volatile today even after the index reached a fresh record high.
With no major domestic economic releases due, Canadian investors will closely monitor the monthly personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation and quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) data from the U.S. this morning.
On the corporate events side, EQB and National Bank of Canada will announce their latest quarterly results today.
Market movers on the TSX today
