- TSX Composite opened down 67 points (-0.19%) to 35,517, with the NASDAQ’s 0.91% decline signalling tech-led, not broad-based, selling early Thursday.
- Gold surged 1.69% to $4,177.30/oz (C$5,938/oz), driving above-average early volume and gap-up opens in TSX precious-metals names.
- WTI crude fell 0.53% to $94.59/bbl and copper dropped 0.96% to $6.5480/lb, pressuring energy and base-metals stocks on the TSX at the open.
- Overnight risk-off sentiment in Asia and Europe, centred on elevated rate concerns and AI-valuation fears, is the primary catalyst behind the early equity weakness.
9:45 AM ET — The TSX Composite opened Thursday down 67 points, or 0.19%, to 35,517, tracking broad weakness on Wall Street where the S&P 500 shed 25 points to 7,694 (-0.32%) in the first 15 minutes of trade. The NASDAQ led declines, tumbling 243 points, or 0.91%, to 26,451 — the sharpest early loss among major benchmarks and a signal that overnight pressure on high-multiple technology names carried straight into the New York open.
Tech Drags, Gold Names Catch a Bid
The early sector picture on the TSX is splitting cleanly along a familiar fault line: technology and energy are lagging, while precious metals are outperforming. Gold jumped $69.40/oz to $4,177.30 (+1.69%) — equivalent to roughly C$5,938/oz at the current 1.4219 USD/CAD rate — lifting senior gold producers and royalty companies in early volume. Silver added $1.29/oz to $56.84 (+2.33%), its strongest single-session opening move in several weeks, giving a secondary boost to silver-weighted miners on the TSX-V.
Energy names opened softer. WTI crude slipped $0.50/bbl to $94.59 (-0.53%) while Brent fell a steeper $1.14/bbl to $104.93 (-1.07%), pressuring Canadian oil-sands producers and pipeline stocks in early trade. Copper’s 0.96% decline to $6.5480/lb added headwinds for base-metals and diversified mining names, undercutting what would otherwise be a positive morning for the broader TSX resources complex.
Overnight Catalysts Driving the Move
The risk-off tone traces back to overnight developments in Asia and Europe, where technology sector selling accelerated on renewed concerns about elevated global interest rates and stretched valuations on AI-linked names. The NASDAQ’s outsized drop relative to the S&P 500 — nearly three times the percentage decline — underscores that the selling is concentrated in growth and tech rather than reflecting broad macro panic. Canadian investors with heavy exposure to TSX-listed tech and software names should note the drag arriving from south of the border before deploying capital in the first hour.
Gold’s surge, by contrast, appears tied to a flight-to-safety rotation amplified by a softer U.S. dollar overnight. The move is already generating above-average early volume in several large-cap TSX gold producers, with bid-ask spreads tightening quickly — a sign institutional buyers stepped in at or before the open rather than waiting for price discovery.
Early Volume and Gap Alerts
Traders are flagging gap-up opens in precious-metals names across the TSX and TSX-V this morning, with some junior gold and silver explorers printing opening prints 3–5% above Wednesday’s close on volume that is running at two-to-three times the 30-day average in the first quarter-hour. On the downside, select TSX-listed semiconductor and AI-infrastructure names opened with gap-downs of 1–2%, mirroring the NASDAQ pressure. Energy stocks are seeing lighter-than-normal early volume despite the crude sell-off, suggesting the sector may be waiting on intraday inventory or geopolitical headlines before committing to direction.
| Index / Asset | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| TSX Composite | 35,517 | -0.19% |
| S&P 500 | 7,694 | -0.32% |
| NASDAQ | 26,451 | -0.91% |
| Gold (USD/oz) | $4,177.30 | +1.69% |
| Silver (USD/oz) | $56.84 | +2.33% |
| WTI Crude (USD/bbl) | $94.59 | -0.53% |
| Copper (USD/lb) | $6.5480 | -0.96% |
| USD/CAD | 1.4219 | — |
