Canadian Stocks Surge As Increase In Gold Lifts Market

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks soared on Wednesday, rebounding from yesterday's decline, as an increase in gold prices pushed up the materials sector stocks, which took the market up with it even as investors assessed yesterday's federal budget in light of the slowdown in the economy.

After opening above yesterday's close, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index traded firmly positive throughout the session before finally settling at 30,103.48, up by 325.66 points (or 1.09%).

Ten of the 11 sectors posted gains today, with the energy sector leading the pack while real estate remained unchanged.

Gold prices bounced back from yesterday's decline as investors turned away from equities due to concerns of overvaluation, which triggered a sell-off in global tech major stocks on Tuesday.

As traders returned to the safe-haven yellow metal, the rebound led to a climb in materials stocks, which lifted the index higher.

Yesterday, Minister of Finance and National Revenue Francois-Philippe Champagne tabled Prime Minister Mark Carney's first budget for 2025/26 in the House of Commons.

With Canada being hit by the U.S. with 35% tariffs and the domestic economy grappling with disruptions, markets were focusing on the fiscal policy.

Carney's budget reveals a deficit of $78.3 billion and calls for $141-billion in new spending over the next five years. It also proposes $51.2-billion in cuts and savings including slashing of tens of thousands of public service jobs.

Analysts feel that the budget may not be sufficient to offer the expected fiscal stimulus and predict that the Bank of Canada may cut interest rates further. On October 29, the central bank cut interest rates to 2.25%.

The U.S. ADP employment report released today revealed that private businesses added 42,000 jobs in October rebounding after an upwardly revised 29,000 jobs cut in September.

For the month of October, while the S&P Global Canada Composite PMI recorded 50.3 (up from 46.3 in September), the Services PMI rose to 50.5 (up from 46.3 in September).

Relations between Canada and the U.S. turned sour after an advertisement funded by Ontario province and aired across the U.S., angered U.S. President Donald Trump, who suspended all trade talks with Canada. Trump went on to further announce an additional 10% tariff on Canadian imports.

On the corporate front, Air Canada reported the third quarter 2025 financial results posting a profit of $264 million down from $2.04 billion during the same period a year earlier.

The operating revenues stood at $5.774 billion, a 5% decline compared to last year and the operating income stands at $284 million with an operating margin of 4.9%.

The net income stands at $264 million and diluted earnings per share at $0.88.

For the third quarter 2025, Maple Leaf Foods reported $43.1 million in profits, up from $17.7 million for the same quarter last year, as its sales have gone up by 8% from an year ago. The profits touched 35 cents per share for the same period, up from 14 cents per share a year earlier.

Major sectors that gained in today's trading were Energy (2.72%), IT (2.35%), Materials (2.25%), Healthcare (1.18%), and Consumer Staples (0.98%).

Among the individual stocks, Kelt Exploration Ltd (8.19%), Suncor Energy Inc (4.53%), Nuvista Energy Ltd (4.08%), Bitfarms Ltd (6.48%), Iamgold Corp (8.87%), Kinross Gold Corp (7.33%), and G Mining Ventures Corp (6.60%) were the prominent gainers.

Ats Corp (10.47%) and Iamgold Corp (8.87%) were among the prime market-moving stocks today.