S&P/TSX falls 736.13 points in biggest daily decline since June 5

Key Facts

The S&P/TSX Composite fell 736.13 points, or 2%, to close at 35,605.27 points in the November 5, 2026 session, its biggest daily decline since June 5, according to Reuters. The drop came as a selloff in U.S. technology stocks spread to the Canadian market, erasing much of the index's sharp gains from the previous day. EL7 data showed the index closed at 36,341.4 points on November 4, before ending the next session at 35,605.3 points. In morning trading, the index was down 1.3% at 35,853.68 points at 10:46 a.m. Eastern time, Reuters reported. The pressure was concentrated in Canadian technology companies as the Wall Street selloff in chip and artificial intelligence stocks spread to the sector.

Technology led the declines in morning trading, falling 5.4%, with Celestica shares down 14.6% and BlackBerry shares down 7.2%, according to Reuters. By contrast, energy was the only sector in positive territory, rising 0.4% as Brent crude was up about 2.8% at the time. Oil futures also climbed in Thursday trading: the December West Texas Intermediate contract rose 2.72% to $90.52 a barrel, while the January Brent contract gained 3.75% to $98.17, according to Investing.com data. Energy and technology diverged during the session, as higher crude prices eased pressure on some stocks while technology companies remained among the biggest losers. An investment official at BMO said, "There is a degree of concern in the technology sector," adding that the selloff reflected "a rotation between sectors rather than a broader retreat from stocks."

Weakness spread across a broad range of Toronto-listed stocks at the close: 732 companies fell, compared with 226 that rose, while 58 stocks ended unchanged, according to Investing.com data. The S&P/TSX 60 options volatility index rose 19.47% to 17.67 points, its highest level in three months. This coincided with a broader drop in U.S. stocks during the November 5 session, with the S&P 500 losing 4.4% and the Nasdaq Composite falling 5.5%, according to the Associated Press. The agency's report linked the U.S. selloff to stocks of companies involved in building artificial intelligence data centers. These moves provide regional context for the pressure on Canadian technology stocks cited by Reuters.

On Canadian economic data, Statistics Canada reported a goods trade surplus of 5.4 billion Canadian dollars in September, compared with 5.0 billion in August. The data released on October 30 were an advance estimate of a 0.1% contraction in real industrial GDP in September, not a final reading. The agency said declines in manufacturing, mining, and oil and gas were partly offset by gains in utilities and wholesale trade. The Ivey Purchasing Managers Index also measures monthly changes in economic activity through a panel of purchasing managers across Canada and covers all sectors of the economy. Its November 6 release date could not be confirmed on the index's official page.