TSX Adds 54 Points at Open as S&P 500 Climbs to 7,704

Toronto, October 27, 2026, 9:45 AM ET — The TSX Composite opened Tuesday with a modest 54-point gain to 35,999 (+0.15%), while the S&P 500 jumped to 7,704 (+0.35%) and the NASDAQ surged +0.68% to 26,348 in the first fifteen minutes of trading. The tech-heavy NASDAQ is the clear early leader across North American indices, pointing to renewed appetite for growth and AI-linked names out of the gate.

Tech and Base Metals Lead; Energy Lags

Sector rotation is already visible in the opening tape. Technology and materials stocks are outperforming early, buoyed by a copper price surge of +1.19% to $6.5855/lb — a move that benefits Canadian mining heavyweights with significant base-metals exposure on both the TSX and TSX-V. Copper’s jump overnight signals continued optimism around global industrial demand and energy-transition infrastructure spending, two themes Canadian resource investors have been watching closely.

Energy is the clear laggard in the opening session. Brent crude is down a steep 5.08% to $109.93/bbl, one of the sharpest single-session drops for the international benchmark in recent months. WTI is also softer, off 0.86% to $100.88/bbl. Canadian oil sands producers and integrated energy companies — which track Brent differentials closely — are under pressure early, with the energy sub-index among the weakest on the TSX board. Any names with heavy Gulf Coast or export exposure are particularly vulnerable to the Brent selloff.

Overnight Catalysts Driving the Open

The divergence between crude and copper is the dominant macro story heading into Tuesday’s session. Crude’s drop appears tied to demand-side concerns and overnight inventory data that caught traders offside, while copper’s rally reflects a separate narrative: accelerating procurement from grid and EV-battery supply chains. The NASDAQ’s outperformance at the open suggests overnight U.S. futures were pricing in positive sentiment around AI infrastructure spending — a theme that has persistent tailwinds into year-end.

Gold is holding firm at $4,038.20/oz (flat, 0.00%), a signal that safe-haven demand is neither spiking nor retreating — consistent with a modestly risk-on tape. Silver is slightly softer at $53.99/oz (-0.22%), underperforming gold in early trade, which typically reflects a slight drag from industrial-metals sentiment rather than a flight-to-safety move.

Early Volume and Gap Moves to Watch

Traders should watch for gap-up moves in copper-linked names on the TSX and TSX-V, where junior miners with copper projects may see outsized volume in the opening thirty minutes. The 1.19% overnight copper print is large enough to trigger algorithmic buying in resource-focused ETFs and screen-based momentum strategies. On the downside, energy-sector gap-downs warrant attention — a 5% Brent drop frequently produces outsized intraday moves in Canadian intermediate producers with thinner float and higher leverage to the commodity price.

With the TSX’s opening gain modest and sector performance sharply bifurcated, Tuesday’s session looks set to reward stock-pickers over index followers. The next key inflection points: any mid-morning comments on crude inventories or demand forecasts, and whether NASDAQ momentum holds past the first hour of trade.