Trader Jonathan Mueller works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (AP Photo)
Canada’s main stock index drifted through a choppy Tuesday session and closed slightly lower, mirroring a broader slump across U.S. markets. Persistent pressure on major technology stocks once again shaped the trading mood on both sides of the border.
Canada’s benchmark S&P/TSX composite index slipped 39.75 points to close at 30,036.46. South of the border, markets fell even harder. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 498.50 points to 46,091.74. The S&P 500 slid 55.09 points to 6,617.32. The Nasdaq composite tumbled 275.23 points to 22,432.85.
Allan Small, senior investment adviser at iA Private Wealth, described the day as “a red session, but not nearly as bad as recent ones.” He said the contrasting performance between the TSX and U.S. markets often stems from the tech-heavy makeup of American indexes.
“In Canada, we tend to move with banks and gold,” he said, noting the TSX’s smaller tech footprint.
Tech Weakness Drives Market Sentiment
Investor concern surrounding artificial intelligence spending weighed heavily on U.S. markets. Small said traders grew nervous as tech companies continued to pour billions into AI development despite mounting questions about long-term returns.
“The market is worried about tech and tech spend, especially AI spend,” he said. “We’ve shifted from cheering investments to doubting whether this level of spending makes sense.”
Nvidia once again dominated the day’s narrative. Its 2.8 per cent slide brought its losses for the month to more than 10 per cent—a drop steep enough to qualify as a correction. Small said Nvidia’s influence now stretches across the entire market.
“If Nvidia goes down, so goes the markets,” he said, emphasizing the stock’s oversized pull on sentiment.
Microsoft’s Strategic Shift Adds to Uncertainty
Investors were also processing Microsoft’s newly revealed plan to deepen collaborations with Anthropic and Nvidia in a sweeping AI infrastructure arrangement. The move signals a shift in the company’s long-standing reliance on OpenAI, raising fresh questions about alliances within the rapidly evolving AI ecosystem.
Small described the relationships among leading AI players as a “circular flow of buying, borrowing, and reinvesting,” which adds to market complexity and investor confusion.
Eyes on Nvidia Earnings
All attention now turns to Nvidia’s earnings report, scheduled for Wednesday. Small believes the results could set the tone for markets in the days ahead.
“It’s huge for tech, huge for semiconductors and chips,” he said. “It should tell us whether the spending is out of control or whether everything we’re seeing actually fits together.”
Commodity and Currency Moves
The Canadian dollar strengthened slightly, trading at 71.44 cents US compared with 71.25 cents US the previous day.
In commodities, the January crude oil contract rose 81 cents to US$60.67 per barrel. Gold moved in the opposite direction, with the December contract slipping US$8.00 to US$4,066.50 an ounce.
Market Outlook
Despite the day’s declines, analysts say volatility remains tied primarily to tech-sector uncertainty. With Nvidia’s results on the horizon, investors appear cautious but alert, waiting for clarity on whether the industry’s massive AI investments are sustainable or poised for a reset.
