- The TSX Composite dropped 118 points (-0.33%) to 35,756 at the open, dragged lower by a sharp 4.05% collapse in WTI crude oil to $97.78/bbl.
- Energy is the clear TSX laggard, with oil sands and integrated producers gapping down 2–4% on overnight inventory and China demand concerns.
- Silver surged 2.21% to $66.92/oz and copper gained 1.12%, offering partial support to TSX materials names and silver streaming stocks.
- Wall Street is diverging from Canada: the S&P 500 opened nearly flat at +0.04% while the NASDAQ climbed 0.27%, buoyed by tech-sector buying interest.
9:45 AM ET — The TSX Composite opened Friday’s session deep in the red, shedding 118 points, or 0.33%, to 35,756 in the first 15 minutes of trade. The selling is concentrated and sector-specific — this is not a broad risk-off flush. The culprit is crude oil, and it is hitting Canadian markets hard.
Energy Leads the Losers
WTI crude is cratering this morning, down 4.05% to $97.78 per barrel (approximately CAD $136.83/bbl at the current 1.3995 USD/CAD rate), while Brent has fallen an even steeper 4.78% to $99.81/bbl. The energy sector is the clear laggard on the TSX, with integrated producers and oil sands names gapping lower on the open. Traders are pointing to overnight reports of a surprise build in U.S. crude inventories combined with demand-side concerns out of China as the twin catalysts behind the selloff. For a TSX index where energy commands a significant weighting, a move of this magnitude in crude is impossible to absorb without index-level pain.
Wall Street Diverges — Tech and Materials Catch a Bid
South of the border, the picture is markedly different. The S&P 500 is up a modest 0.04% to 7,641, essentially pinned at the flatline, while the NASDAQ is outperforming at +0.27% to 26,489 — a sign that growth and technology names are absorbing early buying interest. U.S. markets are largely shrugging off the crude collapse, as lower oil prices are read as disinflationary relief for American consumers and tech-heavy indices with minimal energy exposure.
Back in Canada, the materials sector is offering a partial offset to energy’s drag. Silver is the standout commodity of the morning, surging 2.21% to $66.92/oz (CAD $93.66/oz), its strongest single-session move in weeks. Copper is also firming, up 1.12% to $6.66/lb, lending support to base metals miners on the TSX. Gold is holding near record territory at $4,396.70/oz (-0.07%), providing a floor for senior producers even as the broader index struggles.
Unusual Gaps and Volume to Watch
Early volume patterns show outsized activity in Canadian energy names, several of which gapped down 2–4% on the open — consistent with the scale of the overnight crude move. Options activity in the energy sub-sector is elevated, suggesting institutional hedging was already underway before the bell. On the flip side, silver royalty and streaming companies are seeing gap-up opens with volume running well above their 30-day averages, a direct read-through from silver’s sharp overnight rally.
| Asset | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| TSX Composite | 35,756 | -0.33% |
| S&P 500 | 7,641 | +0.04% |
| NASDAQ | 26,489 | +0.27% |
| WTI Crude | $97.78/bbl | -4.05% |
| Silver | $66.92/oz | +2.21% |
| Gold | $4,396.70/oz | -0.07% |
| Copper | $6.66/lb | +1.12% |
| USD/CAD | 1.3995 | — |
The key question heading into mid-morning is whether the crude selloff stabilizes or accelerates. If WTI breaches the $97 handle on meaningful volume, expect energy-driven TSX weakness to deepen. For now, materials strength is the market’s only meaningful counterweight — and silver is doing the heavy lifting.
