Canada’s main stock index saw a slight gain Friday as July’s GDP numbers surprised to the upside, while U.S. markets saw larger moves higher as inflation data there supported more potential interest rate cuts ahead.
The Canadian market also moved higher as key commodities rose, continuing a trend that has helped the S&P/TSX composite index outperform the S&P 500 this year, said Geoff Phipps, trading strategist and portfolio manager at Picton Investments.
“Materials has really dominated TSX returns,” he said.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended up 29.30 points at 29,761.28 as energy and metals rose along with financials, telecoms and utilities.
Shares in the key commodity sectors rose as the November crude oil contract closed up 74 cents U.S. at US$65.72 per barrel and the December gold contract was up US$37.90 at US$3,809 an ounce.
The information technology index was an outlier, down over two per cent, as Constellation Software Inc. saw further losses after the departure of founder and president Mark Leonard.
The company’s shares closed down almost six per cent Friday after dropping by a similar amount Thursday.
But overall the market was rising, helped somewhat by economic data as well as rising stocks in the U.S., said Phipps.
“We have … high correlation with the U.S. market right now, and we have seen some reflation there.”
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 299.97 points at 46,247.29. The S&P 500 index was up 38.98 points at 6,643.70, while the Nasdaq composite was up 99.37 points at 22,484.07.
Stocks rose in the U.S. as inflation data came in as expected, offering the possibility of more interest rate cuts from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
In Canada, the latest data showed real gross domestic product grew 0.2 per cent in July, marking the first signs of growth in four months and coming in ahead of expectations.
“I do think that there was maybe a small breath of relief from the numbers this morning,” said Phipps.
Excitement was likely tempered by preliminary Statistics Canada data from August that showed no growth.
Looking further out, Phipps said there’s also lingering concerns about other headwinds, including the wave of mortgage renewals still to come through to the end of 2026.
“There is a wall of worry that we either climb over, or does present a bit of a barrier to this rally.”
But he said he still sees trends like heightened spending by governments to continue, which should help keep gold propped up and the commodities cycle going.
“We are seeing the material sector continuing to perform well, and I do think that’s probably going to be an area that continues to work.”
The Canadian dollar traded for 71.73 cents US compared with 71.80 cents US on Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2025.