Canada’s main stock index reversed hard on Thursday, November 20, 2025, as an early surge powered by Nvidia’s blockbuster results gave way to a broad sell‑off in materials and parts of the tech and energy complex.
According to end‑of‑day data, the S&P/TSX Composite Index closed at 29,932.25, down 346 points or about 1.14%, after trading as high as 30,632.84 and as low as 29,917.17 during the session. [1]
That close pulled the index back below the psychologically important 30,000 level, a sharp turn from Wednesday’s 0.81% gain, when Canadian stocks rallied on strength in information technology, materials, and industrials. [2]
TSX Today: Key Numbers at a Glance
- Closing level (Nov 20, 2025): 29,932.25
- Daily change: –346.16 points (–1.14%) [3]
- Intraday high: 30,632.84 (up more than 350 points at the peak) [4]
- Intraday low: 29,917.17 [5]
- Previous close (Nov 19): 30,278.41 [6]
- Approximate year‑to‑date price return (TSX index): about +25% as of November 20, 2025 [7]
Despite today’s pullback, performance data from YCharts show the S&P/TSX Composite has delivered roughly 25.3% year‑to‑date, highlighting how strong the 2025 rebound has been even with bouts of volatility. [8]
Morning: Nvidia Euphoria Lifts Canadian Stocks
Futures for Canada’s main stock index pointed higher before the open, with contracts up roughly 0.24%, as investors reacted to Nvidia’s blow‑out quarterly numbers and optimistic outlook for AI‑driven chip demand. [9]
- Nvidia reported surging revenue and strong guidance, easing worries that the AI boom might already be a bubble. [10]
- The positive sentiment spilled over to tech and AI‑adjacent names globally, helping push S&P/TSX futures and U.S. equity futures firmly into the green. [11]
At the open, Bay Street followed through:
- The S&P/TSX Composite initially jumped more than 350 points, touching 30,632.84, as investors piled into technology, industrials, and some commodity‑linked plays. [12]
Market commentators framed the early move as the Canadian leg of a global “AI relief rally,” as Nvidia’s results temporarily sidelined fears about overheated valuations in high‑growth tech. [13]
Midday: TSX Still Higher, Loonie Softer, Commodities Mixed
By late morning and early afternoon, Canada’s main stock index was still in positive territory, with Canadian Press reporting the S&P/TSX Composite up about 143 points at 30,421.55, while major U.S. indices also traded higher. [14]
At that point:
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up more than 300 points.
- The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were both solidly higher, riding the same tech optimism. [15]
- The Canadian dollar traded near 71.05 US cents, slightly weaker than the prior day’s 71.23 US cents, reflecting a firmer U.S. dollar backdrop. [16]
Commodities were sending a mixed signal:
- January crude oil was up about US$0.59 around US$59.84 per barrel, a modest gain.
- December gold was down roughly US$4.40 at about US$4,078 per ounce. [17]
For equity traders, that meant a risk‑on tone in tech and cyclicals, but a less clear backdrop for resource stocks.
Afternoon: Materials and Metals Lead a Sharp Reversal
The rally didn’t last. By early afternoon, the TSX had not only surrendered its gains but slid decisively into the red.
A detailed intraday update from RTTNews on Nasdaq described how: [18]
- The S&P/TSX Composite, after its run to 30,632.84, fell back to around 29,969, down just over 1% at that stage.
- The S&P/TSX Capped Materials Index dropped about 3.3%, becoming the day’s biggest drag.
- Precious‑metals and silver miners slumped between roughly 5% and 6.5%, with names such as Discovery Silver, Lundin Gold, First Majestic Silver, Endeavour Silver, Novagold Resources, Aya Gold & Silver, and Pan American Silver among the hardest hit.
Other notable losers in the gold and metals complex included SSR Mining, IAMGOLD, Equinox Gold, Eldorado Gold, B2Gold, and Kinross Gold, reflecting broad pressure in the materials space. [19]
Part of the story:
- Gold and silver prices eased, weighed down by a firm U.S. dollar and shifting expectations around global interest‑rate cuts. [20]
- A Reuters preview earlier in the day highlighted that weaker gold prices were already limiting upside for Canadian stocks, even as broader equity markets cheered Nvidia’s earnings. [21]
By the closing bell, the late‑day selling pressure across miners and parts of technology had dragged the broader index to its –1.14% loss on the session. [22]
Tech Stocks: From AI Glow to Profit‑Taking
Technology shares were at the center of the narrative on both sides of the border.
- Early in the day, Canadian tech names leveraged to cloud, AI, and electronics manufacturing saw strong buying interest, mirroring the global response to Nvidia’s results. [23]
- As the session wore on, that enthusiasm faded. According to RTTNews, Celestica and Firan Technology Group reversed sharply lower, with Celestica down more than 5% and Firan off nearly 3%. [24]
The reversal likely reflects classic profit‑taking after a strong run: Celestica, in particular, has been one of 2025’s standout AI‑hardware beneficiaries, and investors were quick to lock in gains once broader sentiment wobbled.
MarketBeat, tracking high‑volume Canadian and cross‑listed names, also flagged heavy activity in Canadian tech and transportation‑linked stocks, including Celestica, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, and Canadian National Railway, alongside large‑cap energy and financial names. [25]
Energy: Oil Names Squeezed Between Short‑Term Moves and Long‑Term Questions
The energy sector saw mixed trading through the session:
- Crude oil prices hovered around US$59–60 per barrel in North American trading, a level that is supportive but no longer providing the windfall seen in earlier commodity cycles. [26]
- Some mid‑cap energy names, such as Gran Tierra Energy and Enerflex, actually posted solid intraday gains, according to RTTNews, suggesting selective buying in beaten‑up names. [27]
At the same time, a fresh pair of reports from Carbon Tracker, released on November 20, underscored the long‑term risks facing Canada’s oil and gas sector:
- Under a fast‑paced global energy transition, the group estimates that up to 30% of Canadian oil and gas value could be at risk, several times higher than the potential upside under a slower transition.
- The research warns that provincial revenues could fall by more than 80% in the 2030s under a Paris‑aligned pathway, unless governments and companies accelerate diversification into clean energy and critical minerals. [28]
While those projections are long‑dated, they form an important part of the backdrop for energy investors on the TSX, especially as global capital increasingly screens for climate and transition risk.
Macro Backdrop: Producer Prices Rise, but the BoC Is in Easing Mode
Today’s market action unfolded against a complex macro setting in Canada:
- Producer prices and raw‑material costs
- New data for October showed industrial product prices rising about 1.5% month‑over‑month, marking the fifth straight monthly increase.
- On a year‑over‑year basis, producer prices rose around 6%, while the Raw Materials Price Index climbed about 1.6% month‑over‑month and 5.8% year‑over‑year. [29]
- This confirms a trend of gradually rebuilding pricing power in Canada’s goods‑producing sectors, even as headline consumer inflation has cooled.
- Business confidence ticked higher
- A survey from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) showed its long‑term Business Barometer index rising to 55.5 in November, up sharply from roughly 46.7 in October. [30]
- That suggests small and mid‑sized firms are more optimistic about their 12‑month outlook, consistent with an economy that is slowing but not stalling.
- Bank of Canada: Gradual easing after October cut
- On October 29, 2025, the Bank of Canada cut its policy rate by 25 basis points to 2.25%, bringing the Bank Rate to 2.5% and the deposit rate to 2.20%. [31]
- Policymakers highlighted softening growth and moderating inflation, but also stressed the need to improve productivity and competitiveness, especially as U.S. trade policy evolves. [32]
For equity markets, this mix—moderately rising producer prices, improving business sentiment, and a central bank in cautious easing mode—creates room for volatility: good news on growth can be offset by worries that inflation pressures might re‑emerge, especially in commodity‑heavy sectors.
Currency and Commodities Check: Loonie on the Back Foot
Beyond equities, Canadian dollar and commodity moves added nuance to today’s market tone:
- The Canadian dollar slipped to about US$0.7105, down from roughly US$0.7123 a day earlier, as the U.S. dollar stayed firm and risk appetite wavered. [33]
- Crude oil eased slightly into the close, with WTI futures around US$59 per barrel, down a few tenths of a percent on the day. [34]
- Gold futures hovered near US$4,080 an ounce, down marginally, helping explain the outsized weakness in gold miners on the TSX. [35]
Since Canada’s index is heavily weighted to energy and materials, even small shifts in commodity prices can translate into large swings on Bay Street—exactly what played out between the morning rally and the afternoon slump.
Stock Market Movers: Where Traders Focused Today
While the TSX Composite tells the story at the index level, traders were also zeroed in on individual names across sectors:
- Miners & materials: Silver and gold producers were the epicenter of the sell‑off, with several major miners dropping between 5% and 6.5% as investors repriced precious‑metals exposure. [36]
- Tech & AI hardware:Celestica and Firan Technology Group saw sharp reversals after strong recent runs, illustrating how sensitive AI‑linked plays remain to shifts in sentiment. [37]
- Cyclicals & industrials: On the positive side, Altus Group, Air Canada, Bombardier, Brookfield Business Partners, Enerflex, and Stella‑Jones all posted gains during parts of the session, indicating selective appetite for cyclical and turnaround stories. [38]
- High‑volume Canadian names: MarketBeat highlighted Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM), Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP), Canadian National Railway (CNR/CNI), and TC Energy (TRP) among the most actively traded and closely watched Canadian stocks today, reflecting investor focus on energy, banks, and transportation. [39]
These flows suggest ongoing sector rotation: investors are still willing to own economically sensitive and infrastructure names, but are increasingly selective in high‑growth tech and resource plays after a strong year‑to‑date advance.
What Today’s TSX Pullback Means for Investors
For investors tracking the Canadian stock market today, several themes stand out:
- Volatility around key macro and earnings catalysts is back.
The combination of Nvidia’s earnings, producer‑price data, and uncertainty around global rates made for a whipsaw session. Expect more days where intraday moves diverge sharply from the close. [40] - Commodities remain the swing factor for the TSX.
With materials and energy still a big share of the index, even modest shifts in gold, silver, and oil prices can overpower good news in tech or financials on any given day. [41] - Long‑term structural questions about energy are increasingly relevant.
New research on the potential erosion of Canadian oil and gas value under an accelerated energy transition is likely to feed into equity valuations over time, especially for producers with high‑cost assets. [42] - Yet the bigger picture is still constructive.
Even after today’s drop, the TSX’s roughly +25% year‑to‑date gain underscores how strong the 2025 recovery has been, helped by easing monetary policy and resilient corporate earnings. [43]
For now, Canada’s stock market sits at the crossroads of three forces: powerful global AI and tech trends, a still‑evolving commodity cycle, and a domestic economy navigating lower interest rates and rising input costs. How those forces balance in the coming weeks will determine whether today’s retreat is just a pause in the rally—or an early warning of a choppier phase for Bay Street.
References
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