TSX Futures Edge Lower as Oil Rebounds

The S&P/TSX Composite Index edged lower to trade below 34,500 on Thursday as investors assessed renewed tensions between the US and Iran alongside earnings from AI chip giant Nvidia. Iranian leader Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly ordered that the country’s near weapons-grade uranium should not be shipped abroad, despite US President Donald Trump having assured Israeli allies that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile would leave the country under any peace agreement. Oil prices rebounded, reviving concerns that a war-driven energy shock could lift inflation and keep interest rates elevated. Major banks traded mixed, with Royal Bank of Canada edging lower while TD Bank ticked up. Lower gold prices pressured mining shares, with Agnico Eagle down nearly 1% and Wheaton Precious Metals losing more than 0.5%. Nvidia's projections failed to impress analysts, pressuring Canadian tech stocks with Shopify dropping over 2%.

Futures tracking the S&P/TSX Composite Index edged lower on Thursday as investors assessed renewed tensions between the US and Iran alongside earnings from AI chip giant Nvidia. Oil prices rebounded, reviving concerns that a war-driven energy shock could lift inflation and pressure central banks to keep interest rates elevated, weighing on banks and the broader market. Iranian leader Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly ordered that the country’s near weapons-grade uranium should not be shipped abroad, despite US President Donald Trump having assured Israeli allies that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile would leave the country under any peace agreement. Meanwhile, lower gold prices pressured mining shares. Beyond geopolitics, Nvidia’s quarterly sales surged 85%, beating forecasts and supporting sentiment toward AI-related stocks across North America.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 1.2% to close at 34,162 on Wednesday, posting its biggest advance in nearly three weeks as mining, banking, and technology shares led gains. A pullback in oil prices eased pressure on long-term borrowing costs, supporting heavyweight financial stocks. Royal Bank of Canada rose 1.9%, while TD Bank gained 1.4%, and both BMO and Brookfield advanced 2.3%. Mining stocks also moved higher, with Agnico Eagle adding 2.7% and Barrick rising 3.6% as gold prices increased alongside a decline in Treasury yields. The move followed signs of incoming energy supply from the Middle East, which helped temper expectations of further inflation pressure. In the technology sector, Shopify climbed 3.8% ahead of Nvidia’s earnings release, which investors viewed as a key test of the strength of the AI-driven market rally. Nvidia is expected to report its fastest sales growth in more than a year.