After falling for two consecutive days, Canadian stocks staged a recovery on Thursday as a rebound in metals prices, the possibility of a U.S.-Iran ceasefire extension, and weaker-than-expected U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation data boosted investor sentiment. These factors helped the S&P/TSX Composite Index climb by 106 points, or 0.3%, to close at 34,518, recovering a small portion of its losses from earlier in the week.
Even as mixed bank earnings drove financial stocks lower, solid intraday gains in many other key sectors, including mining, technology, and consumer cyclicals, helped lift the broader TSX benchmark into positive territory. Utility stocks also saw weakness as investors rotated into higher-growth sectors amid improving risk appetite.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Curaleaf, goeasy, Shopify, and Avino Silver & Gold Mines were the top-performing TSX stocks for the day, with each surging by at least 7.3%.
In contrast, ATS (TSX:ATS) tanked by 14.3% to $42 per share, making it the day’s worst-performing TSX stock. This selloff in ATS stock came after the Cambridge-headquartered automation solutions provider posted a sharp decline in demand indicators despite posting solid fiscal year 2026 (ended in March) results.
In the March quarter, ATS’s order bookings fell 18.4% year over year to $704 million, while its order backlog dropped 8.5% to roughly $2 billion. Investors also appeared concerned about the company’s transportation segment restructuring, which resulted in $28.3 million in reorganization-related charges during the quarter. On a year-to-date basis, however, ATS stock is still up 11%.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Chartwell Retirement Residences, and Aecon Group were also among the session’s bottom performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, as they slid by at least 2.3% each.
According to the exchange’s daily trade volume data, Enbridge, Manulife Financial, BlackBerry, Canadian Natural Resources, and Whitecap Resources were the five most active stocks.
TSX today
Crude oil prices trended lower, but gold prices continued to stage a recovery. These mixed commodity market signals could lead to a cautious start for the resource-heavy TSX benchmark on Friday, with strength in mining stocks and further weakness in the energy sector.
On the economic front, Canadian investors will closely monitor the latest domestic GDP data this morning, which could provide fresh clues about the strength of the economy and the Bank of Canada’s interest-rate path.
Meanwhile, the U.S.-Iran conflict-related developments are also likely to remain in focus after reports suggested negotiators have reached a preliminary framework for a 60-day ceasefire extension and future nuclear talks. However, the proposal still awaits final approval from U.S. president Donald Trump. Any progress toward restoring normal shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz could further ease energy supply concerns and influence commodity-linked TSX stocks in the near term.
On the corporate events front, Laurentian Bank of Canada will announce its latest quarterly results today.
Market movers on the TSX today
