TSX Falls Hard Over Middle East Situation

Equities in Canada’s main marketplace moved lower Wednesday, dragged by losses in consumer stocks and utilities, while investors assessed the developments around a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.The TSX Composite Index tumbled 152.3 points to wrap up Wednesday at 26,566.32 The Canadian dollar eked higher 0.05 cents to 72.90 cents U.S. The ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump between Iran and Israel appeared to be holding on Wednesday. However, doubts continued to linger about whether the truce can hold.On Wednesday, during the NATO summit in The Hague, Trump said he now expects a relationship with Tehran that would preclude rebuilding its nuclear program.Consumer stocks faltered, as Alimentation Couche-Tard fell $2.01, or 2.8%, to $68.81, while George Weston shares dipped $6.31, or 2.3%, to $269.05.In real-estate, Colliers International flopped $6.45, or 3.5%, to $175.88, while FirstService slid $7.93, or 3.3%, to $235.39. In utilities, Fortis Inc. gave back $1.01, or 1.6%, to $63.97, while Transalta lost 20 cents, or 1.3%, to $14.91. In health-care, Chartwell Retirement Residences poked ahead 15 cents to $18.11. In other mineral stocks, Endeavour Silver climbed 14 cents, or 2.2%, to $6.59, while G Mining Ventures claimed 38 cents, or 2.2%, to $17.76.Mining shares were flat. NovaGold Resources finished unchanged at $6.64, and Aya Gold & Silver fell 45 cents, or 3.6% to $12.10, as gold prices edged lower. ON BAYSTREET The TSX Venture Exchange gained 6.2 points to conclude Wednesday to 718.72. Nine of the 12 TSX subgroups slid, most notably consumer staples, down 1.6%, while real-estate ditched 1.2%, and utilities stumbled 0.7%.The three gainers were, health-care, gaining 1.2%, gold, ahead 0.3%, and materials, edging up 0.1%. ON WALLSTREET The S&P 500 ended the session near the flatline on Wednesday as investors watched to see if the benchmark index could return to its all-time high.The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 106.59 points to end Wednesday’s session at 42,982.43.The much-broader index fell 0.02 points to 6,092.16.The NASDAQ Composite tacked on 61.02 37.26 points to 19,973.55.Shares of artificial intelligence darling Nvidia added 4% after hitting a fresh 52-week high. Google-parent company Alphabet and chipmaker AMD gained 2% and 3%.Week to date, the S&P 500 is up more than 2% after a tamer-than-expected Iranian response to U.S. attacks over the weekend. The following ceasefire — announced by President Donald Trump — also boosted equities, as investors breathed a sigh of relief that the conflict wouldn’t disrupt global crude supply.On the economic front, investors parsed data on new home sales, which came in at the slowest pace since October 2024.Prices for the 10-year treasury jumped, lowering the yield to 4.28%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Oil prices gained 84 cents to $65.21 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices gained $13.20 to $3,447.10 U.S. an ounce.