TORONTO — Canada's main stock index finished lower Thursday with broad-based losses amid a flurry of earnings and economic data, while U.S. markets also fell alongside some end-of-month rebalancing.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 110.18 points at 27,259.78 as utilities, technology, and energy moved lower.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 330.30 points at 44,130.98. The S&P 500 index was down 23.51 points at 6,339.39, while the Nasdaq composite was down 7.22 points at 21,122.45.
“We've been on a real hot trend lately, so I think this is going to be the third month in a row of everything up. We've come out of the tariff panic a few months ago, the markets have been booming really strongly, especially in the U.S. last quarter, but on both sides of the border,” said Michael Currie, senior investment adviser at TD Wealth.
“Today, there's a lot of the fact that this is the last day of the month; last day, first day, you do see a lot of rebalancing and shifting.”
He added that equity markets had been off to a good start Thursday after earnings reports from Microsoft and Meta Platforms, but lost ground through the day.
“We saw oil was down, and a few other areas bounced around. So maybe it's just a little profit taking at the end of the month, a little shuffling. But not too much to read into it just yet,” Currie said.
Meta Platforms jumped 11.3 per cent after it crushed Wall Street's sales and profit expectations even as the company continues to pour billions into artificial intelligence.
Microsoft rose four per cent after also posting better results than analysts expected. The software pioneer also gave investors an encouraging update on its Azure cloud computing platform, which is a centerpiece of the company's artificial intelligence efforts.
Currie added that lower energy prices were weighing on Canada’s benchmark index, since it makes up a larger portion of the TSX compared to U.S. indexes.
“Year to date, energy has been one of the shakier sectors, and that's just continuing today,” he said.
The September crude oil contract was down 74 cents US at US$69.26 per barrel.
As earnings season continues in Canada, Currie highlighted a strong report from TC Energy Corp. The company sees rising demand for natural gas pipelines in the future as it reported an increase in second-quarter profit from a year earlier, despite a complex macroeconomic backdrop.
“Profits are up. Net income, revenues are beating from last year ... they're raising their expected earnings before next year. So it's just really strong across the board,” he said.
TC Energy shares finished 1.75 per cent higher.
On the trade front, Currie said markets seem to be putting trade issues on the back burner.
With U.S. President Donald Trump's dramatic tariff hikes on the cusp of starting, countries around the world scrambled on Thursday to finalize their trade frameworks with the United States, figure out the tax rates their goods might face and prepare for the unknown.
Shortly before the Friday deadline for tariffs beginning, Trump said he would enter into a 90-day negotiating period with Mexico, with the current 25 per cent tariff rates staying in place, down from the 30 per cent he had threatened earlier.
Trump has dampened expectations of a deal with Canada.
“Of the major trading partners, Canada still does seem to be the one (where) the negotiations are going the least well. The market believes some deal will be worked out at some point,” Currie said.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.23 cents US compared with 72.41 cents US on Wednesday as Statistics Canada data showed the economy shrank in May but growth could hold flat for the quarter overall.
The December gold contract was down US$4.20 at US$3,348.60 an ounce.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2025.
— With files from The Associated Press
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
Daniel Johnson, The Canadian Press
