- The TSX Composite closed at 36,633, up 537 points or 1.50%, one of the index’s strongest single-session gains of the year on heavy volume.
- Gold surged 3.51% to a record US$4,519.50/oz (C$6,233), driving outsized gains in Canadian senior and junior gold producers across the TSX and TSX-V.
- Copper’s 2.60% jump to US$6.67/lb and WTI’s rise to US$91.72/bbl made materials and energy the day’s two best-performing TSX sectors by a wide margin.
- Friday’s U.S. non-farm payrolls at 8:30 AM ET and a Bank of Canada speech at 10:00 AM ET are the key catalysts to watch before next week’s open.
The TSX Composite closed at 36,633 on Thursday, up 537 points or 1.50%, in one of the index’s strongest single-session gains of the year. Volume was elevated across the board, with the rally extending through the final hour of trading rather than fading — a sign of genuine conviction rather than a short-covering bounce. The S&P 500 added 1.06% to 7,748 and the NASDAQ jumped 1.40% to 26,584, giving Canadian equities a strong Wall Street tailwind to work with.
Gold Steals the Show — and the Headlines
The day’s defining move came from the precious metals complex. Gold surged 3.51% to US$4,519.50 per ounce — equivalent to approximately C$6,233 at today’s USD/CAD rate of 1.3792 — marking a fresh all-time high. Silver didn’t hold back either, rocketing 4.38% to US$67.56/oz (roughly C$93.17). The catalyst: a weaker-than-expected U.S. manufacturing report renewed fears of stagflation, sending institutional money flooding into hard assets. Canadian senior gold producers and royalty names led the TSX’s materials sector, which outperformed every other segment of the index on the day.
Copper added a significant 2.60% to US$6.67/lb, lifting base-metal miners and reinforcing the thesis that supply constraints — particularly out of South America — are becoming structurally bullish for the red metal. Any TSX-listed copper or diversified base-metal name had a very good Thursday.
Winners: Materials and Energy Dominate
The TSX Materials sector was the clear top performer, with senior gold miners posting gains in the 4–6% range in sympathy with spot. Mid-tier and junior producers listed on the TSX-V saw outsized moves, with several names hitting 52-week highs on heavy volume. Energy was the day’s second-best sector: WTI crude climbed 0.78% to US$91.72/bbl (C$126.50) and Brent rose 0.17% to US$95.79/bbl, keeping Canadian oil-sands producers and pipeline operators firmly in the green. Integrated producers with leverage to both WTI pricing and Canadian heavy differentials benefited most.
Losers: Rate-Sensitive Names Feel the Pressure
Not everything participated. Canadian REITs and utilities — the TSX’s most rate-sensitive corners — lagged materially, as the same inflation data that lit a fire under gold reignited bond-market anxiety. The 10-year Government of Canada yield ticked higher, squeezing income-oriented names whose valuations depend on a falling-rate narrative. Defensive consumer staples also underperformed relative to the broader index, with investors clearly preferring hard assets over yield proxies on a day like this.
| Asset | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| TSX Composite | 36,633 | +1.50% |
| S&P 500 | 7,748 | +1.06% |
| NASDAQ | 26,584 | +1.40% |
| Gold (US$/oz) | $4,519.50 | +3.51% |
| Silver (US$/oz) | $67.56 | +4.38% |
| WTI Crude (US$/bbl) | $91.72 | +0.78% |
| Copper (US$/lb) | $6.67 | +2.60% |
| USD/CAD | 1.3792 | — |
What to Watch Friday, September 4
The U.S. non-farm payrolls report drops at 8:30 AM ET — the single most important data point for the week. A soft print would validate today’s stagflation trade and could send gold higher still; a blowout number risks unwinding some of today’s precious-metals enthusiasm and lifting the loonie against the USD. Also on the radar: the Bank of Canada’s Deputy Governor is scheduled to speak at 10:00 AM ET, and any deviation from recent dovish messaging could move CAD-sensitive names sharply. Overnight, watch Asian commodity markets for follow-through on copper and silver — if Shanghai futures confirm today’s moves, Canadian materials names could gap up at the open. Position accordingly.
