Wednesday, April 8, on the trading floor of the Toronto Stock Exchange, which is housed in a grey stone structure on King Street West in Canada’s financial district, was the kind of day that is difficult to sum up in a single figure. The S&P/TSX Composite Index finished at 33,620.57 after closing up 383 points, or 1.15%. This was a positive headline. It’s the best session in five weeks. Stocks in mining increased. Gold increased by almost 4%. Materials and technology both saw gains of about 3%. However, the same day saw a 4.5% decline in energy equities, the very industry that had been supporting the TSX since the start of the Iran war in late February. You can learn a lot about the current state of the Canadian market from that divide.
The same source is responsible for both the energy decrease and the gain. President Trump announced on Truth Social just before 8 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday that he has decided to halt military action against Iran for two weeks. Iran affirmed that during the truce, it would permit safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz. In the hours that followed, oil prices, which had been rising all year due to the fighting, fell by more than 16%. After trading above $112 a barrel, WTI crude fell to settle at $94.41. That was a severe one-day swing for Canadian energy producers that had been riding the oil spike, such as Suncor, Canadian Natural Resources, and Imperial Oil. Cheaper oil, however, was a welcome change for the remainder of the index. Reduced energy costs remove the pressure on consumer and business expenditure, boost the prospects for rate reduction, and lessen inflation.
Key Information: S&P/TSX Composite Index (^GSPTSE)
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | S&P/TSX Composite Index |
| Founded | May 1, 2001 (replaced TSE 300, which started in 1945) |
| Operator | S&P Dow Jones Indices |
| Exchange | Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) |
| Ticker Symbol | ^GSPTSE |
| Number of Constituents | 237 companies (from ~3,451 listed on TSX) |
| Index Type | Large-cap, capitalization-weighted |
| Market Coverage | ~70% of total TSX market capitalization |
| Close (April 8, 2026) | 33,620.57 (+383.05 points, +1.15%) |
| Year-to-Date (2026) | Up ~4.6% (outperforming major U.S. benchmarks) |
| All-Time Intraday High | 30,066 (September 23, 2025 — since surpassed) |
| Top Gainers (Apr 8) | Gold (+3.9%), Technology (+2.9%), Materials (+2.9%) |
| Top Loser (Apr 8) | Energy sector (-4.5%) |
| Canadian Dollar (Apr 8) | 72.20 cents U.S. |
| Live Data Reference | TSX live — BNN Bloomberg |
The way the TSX has been acting during this crisis is noteworthy. The TSX is up about 4.6% so far this year, surpassing the majority of significant American benchmarks, while U.S. markets like the S&P 500 are still down for the year. That seems like excellent news, and it is in certain respects. However, the oil industry is primarily responsible for that outperformance. Since the beginning of 2026, Canadian oil stocks have increased by about 34%, solely due to the surge in oil prices caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. That does not indicate a robust and broad market. The TSX is profiting from a crisis that has negatively impacted nearly everything else. Globally, airlines, cruise lines, merchants, and consumer companies suffered from the same factor that boosted Canada’s index. The TSX’s year-to-date lead may fall considerably when oil returns to normal.
On Wednesday, the market as a whole saw a boost that was more akin to relief than joy. Managing director of Portfolio Management Corp. Anish Chopra referred to it as a “geopolitical relief rally”—and that description is accurate. According to a senior market analyst at Trade Nation, investors will feel more confident if shipping truly begins to pass through the Strait once more and there is concrete proof that things are getting back to normal. However, he stated that a two-week ceasefire is unlikely to persuade investors that it is safe to completely reenter the market. The data shows this hesitancy. There was widespread participation on Wednesday, as all but two of the TSX’s subgroups ended the day higher. However, the energy stocks that had been the index’s biggest winners plummeted as soon as oil sank. For the last six weeks, the underpinning of the market has simply changed.
Observing this gives me the impression that the TSX is doing something subtly intriguing right now: searching for its next story. At least for the time being, the oil tale is fading. What takes control is the question. Canada is one of the world’s top producers of gold, which has been doing well and reached $4,777 an ounce on Wednesday. Both the strength of gold and the overall uptick in sentiment on Wednesday helped mining and commodities companies. Technology, which includes Constellation Software, Shopify, and a few other brands, has been a bad region. Shopify fell 1.4% on Tuesday before rising on Wednesday, and it is still significantly lower than it was a year ago. Rising bond yields and concerns about stagflation have caught the financials, including RBC, TD, Scotiabank, and BMO, making lending more difficult and credit demand lower. Clearly, none of these industries are now taking over from energy.
Whether the two-week truce results in lasting peace negotiations is still up in the air. Iranian officials made it clear that the talks do not mean the end of the war, despite the fact that negotiations are set to start in Islamabad on April 10. This implies that the upcoming sessions for the TSX will be closely monitored. If oil stabilizes, energy stocks might rise. Buyers seeking security may continue to be drawn to gold. Additionally, the financials will continue to monitor the Fed and the Bank of Canada for any indication that rate expectations are changing. The TSX closed at 33,620.57 for the time being. It’s a five-week high. The day is going well. However, as one analyst pointed out, the relief is still brittle.
