Canadian Stocks Regain Ground

Index Update:  The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 190.83 points or 0.6 percent to 31,440.85, snapping a four-day losing streak, although the index remains well off the record closing high set a week ago.

Macro Update:  Data from the Labor Department showed the annual rate of growth by the consumer prices in the U.S. slowed to 2.7% in November from 3% in September. Economists had expected the annual rate of growth to tick up to 3.1%.  The annual rate of growth by core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, also slowed to 2.6% in November from 3% in September. The pace of core price growth was expected to remain unchanged.  The Labor Department noted that survey data for October 2025 was not collected due to the government shutdown. The unexpected slowdowns by the annual rates of price growth is likely to increase confidence about the Federal Reserve continuing to lower interest rates in the new year.

Top Movers:  Technology stocks Shopify Inc, Lightspeed Commerce and Bitfarms surged 4 to 5%. Blackline Safety Corp., BlackBerry and Open Text Corp. gained 1 to 1.5%. In the financials sector, Brookfield Asset Management, Brookfield Corporation, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Sprott, Manulfe Financial, Royal Bank of Canada, Candian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Bank of Nova Scotia and Trisura Group gained 1 to 3%. Consumer discretionary stock Aritzia climbed nearly 7%. Gildan Activewear surged 2.9%, Linama Corp advanced 2.3% and Magna International moved up 2.1%. Pet Valu Holdings gained about 1.3%

Our Stance:  Price action is currently consolidating near a critical support zone around 31,600. Sustained holding above this region will be crucial for maintaining positive sentiment and preserving the broader bullish trend. However, a decisive break below 31,400 could signal a loss of near-term momentum and potentially trigger a short-term corrective phase. In such a scenario, supports at 31,200 and 31,100 may act as buffers against deeper downside pressure.

Commodity Update:  The yen stayed near recent lows on Friday as traders awaited clarity on whether the Bank of Japan can sustain interest rate hikes into next year, while the euro edged lower after the central bank gave no signal on tightening. Precious metals weakened, with gold down 0.51% to USD 4,341.30, silver slipping 0.93% to USD 64.62, and copper marginally higher by 0.01% to USD 11,717.50. Brent crude fell 0.23% to USD 59.83, heading for a second straight weekly decline as Russia-Ukraine peace hopes offset Venezuelan supply concerns.

Technical Update:

The S&P/TSX Composite Index advanced on Thursday, rising 190.83 points (+0.61%) to close at 31,440.85. The move was supported by strong trading volumes, highlighting firm investor participation and reinforcing the prevailing bullish momentum. From a technical standpoint, the index continues to display a constructive upward structure, trading comfortably above its 50-period Simple Moving Average (SMA), which remains a key dynamic support and has consistently underpinned the ongoing uptrend. Momentum indicators also remain favorable, with the 14-period RSI at 58.96, signaling steady buying interest without entering overbought territory. Price action is currently consolidating near a critical support zone around 31,600. Sustained holding above this region will be crucial for maintaining positive sentiment and preserving the broader bullish trend. However, a decisive break below 31,400 could signal a loss of near-term momentum and potentially trigger a short-term corrective phase. In such a scenario, supports at 31,200 and 31,100 may act as buffers against deeper downside pressure.