Markets Stage Broad Recovery as Mid- and Small-Caps Lead, Energy Surges

The Canadian Vanguard Stock Market Report – Thursday, October 23, 2025 Edition

.

The Toronto Market

The S&P/TSX Composite Index advanced 203.30 points, or 0.68%, to close at 30,186.28. The benchmark has now posted gains in two consecutive sessions, lifting it back above the 30,000-point threshold as investors continued to rotate into equities.

                                                                                                                                                                     

Today’s Market Statistics

Advancers outnumbered Decliners, with five Advancers for every two Decliners — a ratio of 2.45 to 1. In total, there were 1,411 Advancers, 579 Decliners, and 138 Unchanged issues.

There were 114 new 52-week highs and 12 new 52-week lows, compared with 94 new highs and 29 new lows recorded yesterday.

Total trading volume on the TSX reached 425,027,979 shares, down 10% from 470,785,126 shares traded yesterday.

Market Wrap-Up

Toronto market saw strong gains as Technology led the sectors. It was a very positive session on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) today, with Technology sector leading the sectors today.

• Shopify Inc. (TSX: SHOP): +3.07% ($6.95) → $233.51, with 1.6M shares traded
• Celestica Inc. (TSX: CLS): +4.40%, with 4.2M shares traded

Eight of the ten sectors posted gains, while Utilities and Durable Consumer Goods & Services lagged.

Cameco Crop and Small Modular Reactors (SMR)

Cameco Corp (TSX: CCO) advanced 3.26% ($3.81) to close at $120.66, with about 1M shares traded. The company should attract investor attention following a government announcement this morning by Prime Minister Mark Carney at Darlington nuclear generating station : a $3 billion budget to develop Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) for future clean power generation for the province.

While Cameco does not currently produce SMRs—technology that remains largely in development—the company is a dominant player in Canada’s nuclear industry. Cameco supplies uranium fuel worldwide and, through its subsidiary Westinghouse, provides nuclear reactor technology globally. Given its position, it is reasonable to anticipate that a portion of the government’s SMR investment could flow to Cameco for fuel supply, reactor technology, or related services.

Investors should keep a close eye on Cameco Corp and consider adding it to their watchlist, as the company could benefit significantly from this emerging SMR initiative.

.

The US Markets

Major U.S. equity indexes posted solid gains as markets staged a recovery rally following two sessions of declines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 144.20 points, or 0.31%, to close at 46,734.61, while the S&P 500 added 39.04 points, or 0.58%, to finish at 6,738.44. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 201.40 points, or 0.89%, to end the session at 22,941.80. The Russell 2000 outperformed the major benchmarks, climbing 31.10 points, or 1.27%, to close at 2,482.66.

Today’s Market Statistics

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE):  Advancing issues outpaced decliners by roughly two to one, with a ratio of 2.05-to-1.0. In total, 2,873 stocks advanced, 1,400 declined, and 375 were unchanged. There were 259 new 52-week highs and 55 new 52-week lows, compared with 142 highs and 63 lows in the previous session.  Trading volume totaled 5.66 billion shares, about 2% lower than the 5.81 billion shares traded yesterday.

NASDAQ:  Advancers also led decliners on the NASDAQ, with a ratio of 1.85-to-1.0. A total of 3,054 issues advanced, 1,650 declined, and 285 were unchanged. The exchange recorded 130 new 52-week highs and 84 new 52-week lows, versus 103 highs and 136 lows in the prior session.
Total share volume came to 10.85 billion, marking a 28% decline from 15.15 billion shares traded the yesterday.

Summary:  Overall market breadth was positive across both major exchanges, indicating broad participation in the day’s rebound. The strong advance-to-decline ratios suggest improving investor sentiment after recent weakness. However, the lighter overall trading volumes—particularly on the NASDAQ—point to a degree of caution, as some investors remain on the sidelines despite the market’s recovery momentum.

Market Wrap-Up 

Mid- and small-cap stocks outperformed the broader market, reflecting renewed investor appetite for higher-risk segments. The energy sector led gains, rising 1.51%, supported by strength in oil refiners, which saw robust advances.

Tesla Inc. (TSLA) reversed its post-earnings decline from Wednesday’s after-hours session, climbing 2.28% (or $10.01) to close at $448.98 on 126.7 million shares traded. Tesla stock is worth is keeping an eye on in the short term.

Among notable movers, CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (CRWD) gained 4.37% (or $21.87) to finish at $521.98 on 3.1 million shares traded, though the stock remains below levels seen prior to last year’s operational setback.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) surged 12.45% (or $6.30) to close at $56.92, with 13.4 million shares changing hands, making it one of the day’s strongest performers.

Emerging nuclear technology companies also rallied, including NuScale Power Corporation (SMR), Nano Nuclear Energy Inc. (NNE), Oklo Inc. (OKLO), and Centrus Energy Corp. (LEU). These stocks remain speculative plays given the early-stage nature of their technologies and the absence of commercially deployed products.

Market Outlook 

The markets staged a healthy recovery rally, supported by broad participation across major indexes and sector-specific gains. Nevertheless, recent volatility underscores the importance of disciplined risk management and close monitoring of sector-specific developments in the days ahead.

Oil Price:  U.S. crude-oil futures rose 5% earlier in the day on the news that President Trump has sanctioned two major Russian Oil companies. US Oil price is down -0.37% at $61.55 per barrel, as of the time (11:30 pm ET, Thursday) of this post update.

Gold price is down -$42.30 or -1.01% at $4,103.30 while silver price is down -$0.78 or -1.59% at $47.92 per ounce as of the time of this post update.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is up 0.96% at $111,474.00, as of the time of this post update.

10 –year Treasury Yield:  The 10-year Treasury yield ticked up 4% earlier today.  The 10-year yield is at 3.999%, as of the time (11:30 pm ET, Thursday) of this post update.

After-hours action: Stock Futures are up slightly this evening. Dow Futures is up 86.00 points or 0.18% vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures is up 19.50 points or 0.29% at 6794.50 and Nasdaq 100 futures is up 106.50 points or 0.42% at 25,358.25 as of the time (11:30pm ET, Thursday) of this post update.

Note: The markets’ performance during the regular market session often bear little or no semblance to the futures readings the previous evening. Please use as data applicable at the time of capture only.

.

NOTICE TO READERS 

Our readers are strongly advised to conduct their research into individual stocks before making a purchase decision. In addition, investors are advised that past stock performance is no guarantee of future price appreciation. Any recommendation is not a guarantee of any particular stock’s future prices, and The Canadian Vanguard accepts no responsibility or liability for investors’ or readers’ purchases.

The Canadian Vanguard’s Stock Market  Reports, https://www.thecanadianvanguard.com/category/stock-markets/ , are composed by senior Financial Industry and Information Technology professionals. We deliberately neither engage nor deploy AI tools to produce data for these reports.

Stocks In The News/ Stocks To Watch and Market Strategy will soon be available only to Paying Subscribers.

(c) This article is published by The Canadian Vanguard on October 23, 2025.