Small-Caps Take the Lead, But Big-Caps Keep Pace

The Canadian Vanguard Stock Market Report – Monday, October 20, 2025 Edition

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The Toronto Market

The TSX Composite advanced 307.96 points, or 1.02%, to close the session at 30,416.44. Today, the index has nearly reversed the significant decline it suffered on Friday.

                                                                                                                                                                                          

Today’s Market Statistics

It was a decisively bullish session on the TSX, with advancing issues overwhelmingly outnumbering decliners. There were approximately four advancers for every decliner, or a more precise ratio of 4.20-to-1.0. In total, 1,657 stocks advanced, 394 declined, and 124 remained unchanged.

New highs surged, with 319 stocks hitting 52-week highs and just 22 reaching new lows. This compares to 85 new highs and 38 new lows recorded on Friday.

Total trading volume reached 412,612,183 shares, representing an 18% decrease from Friday’s volume of 503,996,291 shares.

Market Wrap-Up Report

It was a broadly bullish session on the TSX today, with gains across most sectors. Technology and Basic Materials led the charge, while Financials also posted a solid performance. Several gold and silver mining stocks advanced as well, continuing their recent momentum. Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX: AEM) and  Franco Nevada (TSX:FNV) had a good session.

However, one question investors may want to consider is how long the gold rally can last — or whether a temporary pullback may be on the horizon.

Among notable movers, Shopify Inc. (TSX:SHOP) stood out with a strong performance. The stock rose 4.71%, or $10.42, to close at $231.35, with 1.25 million shares traded. It’s a name that remains worth watching as momentum builds in the tech space.

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The US Market

All four major U.S. stock indexes closed with strong gains today, led by the Russell 2000, which outperformed its peers.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 515.97 points, or 1.12%, to finish at 46,706.58.
• The S&P 500 gained 71.12 points, or 1.07%, ending the session at 6,735.13.
• The Nasdaq Composite advanced 310.57 points, or 1.37%, to close at 22,990.54.
• The Russell 2000 surged 47.73 points, or 1.95%, finishing at 2,499.91, marking it as the top-performing index of the day with nearly a 2% gain.

Small-cap stocks posted a notably strong performance, while large-cap indexes also delivered solid results, with the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq each rising more than 1%.

  Today’s Market Statistics

NYSE Overview

At the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), advancing issues far outpaced decliners in a strongly positive session. There were approximately five advancers for every decliner, with a more precise ratio of 4.81-to-1.0. In actual numbers:

• Advancers: 3,558
• Decliners: 739
• Unchanged: 310

New 52-Week Highs surged to 345, while 52-Week Lows dropped to 47 — a significant improvement from Friday’s 30 highs and 51 lows.

The total volume on the NYSE reached 4,758,512,295 shares, marking a 12% decline from Friday’s volume of 5,413,185,969 shares.

NASDAQ Overview

The NASDAQ also saw strong breadth, with advancers outnumbering decliners by a ratio of 3.40-to-1.0, or roughly seven advancers for every two decliners. By the numbers:

• Advancers: 3,668
• Decliners: 1,079
• Unchanged: 248

There were 230 new 52-Week Highs and 92 new 52-Week Lows, compared to 70 highs and 138 lows on Friday.

Trading volume at the NASDAQ totaled 9,834,016,262 shares, holding steady from Friday’s 9,814,794,111 shares — virtually unchanged.

Market Wrap-Up Report

Today was like a rising tide which lifts all boats. Small-caps advanced, but the big-caps were not left that far behind.  All the indexes are slightly above their 21-day lines, not far from record highs — or their 50-day averages.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) was firmly in the spotlight today, closing at a record high. The stock gained 3.94%, or $9.95, to finish the session at $262.24,0.5 million shares traded. The rally was fueled by strong iPhone 17 sales in both the U.S. and China, reaffirming Apple’s dominance in the global smartphone market.

     

Meanwhile, rare earth industry stocks, which had faced sharp declines last Thursday and Friday, showed signs of recovery. The earlier selloff came despite a recent boost following China’s announcement of licensing controls on rare earth metal exports.

Today, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (CLF) surged 20% after announcing plans to invest in rare earth metal production, marking a significant strategic move. MP Materials Corp. (MP) also gained on the day.

Given renewed interest and volatility in the sector, rare earth stocks may be worth monitoring closely in the coming sessions.

Oil Price:  U.S. crude oil futures fell 2.31% to $57.54 a barrel, hitting five-month lows last week. US Oil price is down at $57.23 per barrel, as of the time (11:30 pm ET, Monday) of this post update.

Gold price is down -$69.50 or -1.56% at $4,289.00, while silver price is down -4.20% at $49.23 per ounce as of the time of this post update.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is down -2.64% at $107,911.00, as of the time of this post update.

10 –year Treasury Yield:  The 10-year Treasury yield fell five basis points to 4.01%. The 10-year yield is at 3.968%, as of the time (12:30 am ET, Tuesday) of this post update.

After-hours action: Stock Futures are little changed after the market rally today. Dow Futures is down -68.00 points or -0.15% vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures is down -6.50 points or -0.10% at 6766.75, and Nasdaq 100 futures is down -29.00 points or -0.11% at 25,276.25 as of the time (12:30am ET, Tuesday) of this post update.

Please note: Futures activity reflects investor sentiment ahead of the regular trading session but often diverges significantly from market performance during the actual session. These figures should be considered as applicable only at the time of capture.

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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.

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(c) This article is published by The Canadian Vanguard on October 20, 2025.