# Canada Market Week in Review: The TSX Stalls as Oil and Gold Pull Back
While US tech powered ahead, Canada's market went nowhere. The S&P/TSX Composite finished the week essentially flat near 35,800, a stark contrast to the Nasdaq's 2% gain. The reason is structural: the TSX is a resource and financials index, and this week its two biggest commodity anchors both fell.
Oil and gold weighed on the index
The TSX lives and dies by commodities, and both moved against it this week. Crude oil dropped about 8%, with West Texas Intermediate sliding to around $92 as Middle East tensions eased, which pressured Canada's large energy sector. Gold also pulled back roughly 2%, cooling from record highs and dragging on the country's heavyweight mining and materials names. You can track both on our oil price and gold price pages.
Without a large technology sector to offset those declines, Canada simply had nothing to catch the AI wave that lifted the US and Asia. That is the recurring story of 2026: when the rally is about chips and software, the resource-heavy TSX watches from the sidelines.
A weaker loonie
The Canadian dollar softened as well, with the US dollar climbing to about 1.41 against the loonie. A weaker currency is a mixed bag: it helps exporters and companies that earn in US dollars, but it also imports inflation, which keeps the Bank of Canada in a tight spot. We covered the central bank backdrop in our Canada market week in review.
Where the opportunity sits
A flat index does not mean a flat market underneath. Canada's real strength has always been income: its big banks, pipelines and utilities are among the most reliable dividend payers anywhere, which is why they anchor so many portfolios through choppy stretches. For the names that hold up, see our guides to the best Canadian dividend stocks and the best Canadian ETFs, and the year's leaders in Canada's top performers.
The week ahead
For the TSX to break out, it needs one of two things: a bounce in commodity prices, or a rotation back toward the value and dividend names it is built on. Watch oil and gold as the fastest tells, and keep an eye on the Bank of Canada, whose next move on rates matters more to Canadian stocks than almost anything happening on Wall Street.
This article is for informational and educational purposes only and is not investment advice. Do your own research before investing.
