TSX Drops 218 Points at Open as Tech Selloff Hits North American Markets

9:45 AM ET — North American markets kicked off September with a broad-based selloff, and Canada’s benchmark index isn’t being spared. The TSX Composite opened down approximately 218 points, or -0.60%, to 36,051 in the first 15 minutes of trading. South of the border, the S&P 500 fell 51 points (-0.66%) to 7,635, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ cratered 327 points (-1.24%) to 26,044 — the sharpest early mover of the session and a clear signal that risk appetite has evaporated to start the month.

Tech Drags, Energy Charges

The sector picture is sharply bifurcated this morning. Technology is the clear laggard, with Canadian AI and semiconductor-linked names tracking the NASDAQ’s steep decline. Information technology components on the TSX are among the heaviest losers in early trade, consistent with a broader rotation out of growth stocks that appears to have accelerated overnight. Financials and materials are also in the red, offering little cushion for the index.

The lone standout is energy. WTI crude is surging 2.72% to $88.09 per barrel (approximately $122.33 CAD at the prevailing 1.3886 USD/CAD rate), while Brent crude is up 2.23% to $92.51/bbl. Canadian energy producers — particularly oil sands and intermediate producers with direct leverage to WTI — are bucking the broader selloff. Investors should watch names with high operational leverage to crude prices, as this move is significant enough to drive meaningful earnings revisions if sustained.

Overnight Catalysts Driving the Move

The pressure on equities traces directly to overnight developments in global risk sentiment. A combination of factors — including renewed concerns over tighter-for-longer monetary policy signalling from major central banks and softer-than-expected manufacturing data out of Asia — rattled futures markets heading into the North American open. The NASDAQ’s outsized decline of -1.24% relative to the S&P 500’s -0.66% suggests the selling is concentrated in high-multiple growth and AI-linked names that had been outperforming through August.

Precious metals are also softening alongside equities, which is notable. Gold slipped 0.67% to $4,401.60/oz (roughly $6,113 CAD/oz) and silver fell 1.18% to $65.44/oz — a rare risk-off session where even traditional safe havens are not finding buyers. This dynamic points to potential liquidity-driven selling, where investors may be raising cash across asset classes simultaneously.

Volume and Gap Moves to Watch

Copper is holding relatively flat at $6.5855/lb (-0.12%), suggesting the base metals complex isn’t yet pricing in a sharp growth slowdown — a key data point for Canadian mining and diversified resource stocks. Traders should monitor whether copper holds this level through the morning session. Any meaningful break lower would likely drag TSX materials names further into the red.

Early volume patterns on the TSX skew toward energy names on unusually heavy buying interest, consistent with the crude oil spike. Meanwhile, gap-down opens in several Canadian technology listings warrant attention — stocks that opened more than 2% below yesterday’s close on above-average volume could signal institutional distribution rather than retail panic. The next 45 minutes of trading will be critical in determining whether dip buyers step in or if September opens with a sustained leg lower.