Toronto, Feb 8, 2026, 15:42 EST — The market has wrapped up for the day.
- RBC shares climbed 0.7% in Toronto on Friday, topping a turbulent week for rate-sensitive financials.
- With late-February results looming, investors are setting up trades, waiting for new details on margins and credit to land.
- Canadian banks are still moving in step with shifting Bank of Canada rate bets.
Royal Bank of Canada stock gained 0.69%, finishing at C$232.72 in Toronto on Friday. The weekend pause leaves traders eyeing Monday for updates from RBC—attention turning from the screen to what the bank will say on loans, losses, and interest rates. (Reuters)
It’s rates — again. Canada lost 24,800 jobs in January, a surprise drop, but the unemployment rate ticked down to 6.5%. The loonie picked up strength as stocks bounced and markets weighed signs the Bank of Canada isn’t eager to move on cuts. Ten-year Canadian yields inched up to roughly 3.414%. (Reuters)
On Thursday, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem emphasized the uncertainty clouding the outlook and warned against jumping to conclusions about economic softness. “This will be measured in years, not quarters,” Macklem said, referring to what he described as an ongoing transition—language that leaves open questions about whether the central bank’s next move is a rate cut, staying put, or something else entirely. (Reuters)
RBC’s U.S.-listed shares wrapped up Friday’s session in New York at $170.40, posting a 0.9% gain. The stock mostly mirrored the broader risk-on mood; no fresh headlines drove the move.
Bank investors are watching to see if steady or rising yields can boost margins, but not so much that borrowers start struggling. Net interest margin—the gap between what banks make from loans and what they pay on deposits—can get squeezed quickly if funding costs outpace returns from loans.
RBC serves as a window into the Canadian credit cycle. Investors are watching for shifts in management’s language around consumer stress, pockets of trouble in commercial real estate, and those all-important provisions for credit losses—the reserves banks keep in case loans go bad.
Toronto-Dominion, Bank of Montreal, and Scotiabank tend to move together on rate and growth themes, but RBC’s larger footprint means its remarks can shift sentiment for the whole group.
Here’s the risk: sharper-than-anticipated growth slowdown or stubbornly high funding costs could push up provisions and chill loan growth. That scenario often hits bank multiples fast—dividends may hold up, but it doesn’t matter much if multiples take a hit.
RBC will release its first-quarter numbers on Feb. 26. (RBC)
After earnings, eyes shift to March 18, when Canada’s next policy decision drops — a key date for Canadian financials coming off a barrage of data that’s clouded forecasts. (bankofcanada.ca)
