Canada, U.S. markets move in opposite directions as gold prices weigh on the TSX

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index finished 350 points lower on Friday, weighed down by losses in the basic materials sector, while U.S. markets saw gains. 

As Canadian and U.S. equity markets moved in opposite directions, Michael Greenberg, head of Americas portfolio management at Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions, attributed this to the composition of the respective indexes.

“It’s really a divergence of two indices in the sense that gold and materials are kind of getting hit today, which of course are a big part of the Canadian index, while tech is doing fairly well, which is a big part of the U.S. index,” he said.

He added that currently, markets have a lot of “volatility underneath the hood” across some of the major themes, including AI-related tech stocks and gold. As a result, he said those areas of the market are prone to “day-to-day moves on sometimes little to no news.”  

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 350.32 points at 30,108.48.   

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 238.37 points at 46,190.61. The S&P 500 index was up 34.94 points at 6,664.01, while the Nasdaq composite was up 117.44 points at 22,679.98.

Gold pulled back from its latest record as calm seeped through the U.S. market. 

The December gold contract was down US$91.30 at US$4,213.30 an ounce.

Besides worries about tariffs, gold has also surged on expectations for coming cuts to interest rates by the U.S. Federal Reserve and concerns about the massive amounts of debt that the U.S. and other governments worldwide are building.

“I don’t know if I’d call this a change in trend just yet, but definitely there are some people taking a breath on that trade at least today,” Greenberg said.  

He noted he isn’t putting too much stock in a one-day decline in gold prices. 

“This is a little bit par for the course when you’ve got a market that’s hitting all-time highs, and then there’s a lot of money chasing some of these themes, it’s going to create some volatility short term,” Greenberg said. 

With some Canadian firms set to begin reporting earnings next week, Greenberg said markets will be closely watching the release of any corporate guidance. 

“Getting a sense from companies (as to) what has been the effect of tariffs on their manufacturing, on their cost base, on their future plans on how to run their businesses is obviously going to be important for us to gauge what effect that’s going to have on the economy,” he said.  

“Obviously, as companies potentially leave Canada to set up shop in the U.S. for their manufacturing to avoid tariffs, that’s job losses in Canada, which of course is negative for our economy, so we want to gauge that.” 

The Canadian dollar traded for 71.25 cents US compared with 71.18 cents US on Thursday.  

The December crude oil contract was up 16 cents US at US$57.15 per barrel.   

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2025.

— With files from The Associated Press

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)