S&P/TSX composite ends flat on Wednesday, U.S. stock markets lower

TORONTO – Canada’s benchmark index finished flat on Wednesday, weighed down by declines in technology stocks while U.S. markets fell as investors sifted through economic data.

Shopify Inc. was the largest drag on the S&P/TSX composite index, losing 7.03 per cent on the day. The company reported a fourth-quarter profit of US$743 million, compared with a profit of US$1.29 billion in the last three months of 2024.

“Despite the company beating on revenue lines and announcing actually a buyback of shares … the lower margin forecasts and earnings weakness drove the stock lower,” said Kevin Burkett, portfolio manager at Victoria-based Burkett Asset Management.

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 2.64 points at 33,254.19.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 66.74 points at 50,121.40. The S&P 500 index was down 0.34 points at 6,941.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 36.01 points at 23,066.47.

U.S. stocks were feeling both the upside and downside Wednesday of a surprisingly strong economic report that said the nation’s unemployment rate improved last month.

The U.S. Labor Department said employers added 130,000 jobs to their payrolls last month, more than the 75,000 that economists expected. That helped calm worries from a day earlier, when a discouraging report suggested spending by U.S. households, the main engine of the economy, may be stalling.

“That was stronger than expected, and what we noticed was the market implied probability of the 25 basis-point cut at next month’s (U.S. Federal Reserve) meeting, which will be in March, moved lower from 22 per cent to eight per cent,” Burkett said.

On one hand, the strong data on jobs raises hopes that the U.S. economy can remain solid and keep driving big profits for companies.

But on the other hand, for the broad stock market, the stronger-than-expected jobs data could also keep the U.S. Fed on hold when it comes to cuts to interest rates. And higher rates can drag on prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments.

After Wednesday’s report showed the tick down for the U.S. unemployment rate, traders pushed back their bets for when the Fed could begin cutting interest rates again, according to data from CME Group. The bets slid further into the summer, after a new Fed chair is set to take the helm.

If Wednesday’s jobs report had shown a rise in the unemployment rate or other worsening for the job market, that could have pushed the Fed to resume its cuts more quickly.

The Canadian dollar traded for 73.67 cents US compared with 73.83 cents US on Tuesday.

The March crude oil contract was up 67 cents US at US$64.63 per barrel. The April gold contract was up US$67.50 at US$5,098.50 an ounce.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2026.

— With files from The Associated Press.

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