U.S. Markets Mixed as S&P 500 Holds Key Support While Nasdaq Stumbles
The Canadian Vanguard Stock Market Report – Thursday February 26, 2026 Edition.
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The Toronto Market
The Toronto Market Index
The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 374.63 points, or 1.10%, to close at 34,501.96. After declining yesterday, the index rebounded strongly and has now advanced in seven of the past nine trading sessions.
Gains were broad-based across sectors, contributing to the solid 1.10% increase. The index first crossed the 34,000 level yesterday and strengthened its position above that mark today, more than doubling the previous session’s gain.
Today’s TSX Market Statistics
At the TSX, advancing issues outnumbered declining issues. Specifically, there were 1,266 advancers compared with 907 decliners, resulting in an advancer-to-decliner ratio of 1.40 to 1—approximately three advancers for every two decliners. An additional 156 issues closed unchanged.
The exchange recorded 366 new 52-week highs and 16 new 52-week lows, compared with 422 new highs and 18 new lows in the previous session.
Total trading volume reached 503,661,794 shares, up 1.4% from the 496,790,722 shares traded yesterday. The index posted a strong gain alongside a modest increase in trading volume, reflecting continued investor interest in the Toronto market.
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The US Markets
U.S. Market Indexes
U.S. markets closed mixed today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 17.05 points, or 0.03%, to finish at 49,499.20. The S&P 500 declined 37.27 points, or 0.54%, closing at 6,908.86. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 273.69 points, or 1.18%, ending the session at 22,878.38.
The Nasdaq retreated after two consecutive sessions of gains. Although technology stocks had recently shown signs of stabilizing amid sector rotation, renewed concerns surrounding AI-related job displacement weighed on sentiment today. Both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 opened lower and remained in negative territory throughout the session. At its intraday low, the Nasdaq was down nearly 500 points before trimming some losses into the close.
After leading the market yesterday, the Nasdaq became the weakest-performing major index today, resuming its recent pattern of underperformance tied to investor rotation away from technology stocks. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 followed nearly identical intraday patterns. Investors may wish to exercise caution with technology holdings in the near term.
The Russell 2000 Index rose 13.96 points, or 0.52%, to close at 2,677.29. Although the small-cap index declined sharply earlier in the session, it rebounded strongly in the afternoon to finish roughly 40 points above its intraday low. The Russell 2000 has now moved back above its 25-day and 50-day moving averages.
Today’s U.S. Market Statistics
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE):
Advancing issues outnumbered declining issues. There were 2,642 advancers, 1,877 decliners, and 416 issues unchanged, resulting in an advancer-to-decliner ratio of 1.40 to 1—approximately seven advancers for every five decliners.
The exchange recorded 444 new 52-week highs and 71 new 52-week lows, compared with 208 new 52-week highs and 55 new 52-week lows in the previous session.
Total NYSE trading volume reached 5,984,201,216 shares, approximately 10% higher than the 5,452,252,563 shares traded yesterday.
NASDAQ:
On the NASDAQ, advancing stocks modestly outpaced declining stocks. There were 2,477 advancers and 2,264 decliners, producing an advancer-to-decliner ratio of 1.09 to 1, with 332 issues unchanged—roughly one advancer for every decliner.
The exchange posted 186 new 52-week highs and 112 new 52-week lows, compared with 291 new highs and 110 new lows yesterday.
Total NASDAQ trading volume amounted to 9,318,920,546 shares, up 6% from yesterday’s 8,753,232,999 shares traded.
