Equities Closed Mixed As Investors Await Wednesday’s Fed Policy Announcement
The Canadian Vanguard Stock Market Report – Tuesday December 9, 2025 Edition.
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The Toronto Market
The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 74.40 points, or 0.24%, to close at 31,244.37. The TSX has been in consolidation for six sessions, forming a flat base after five consecutive days of gains. It remains to be seen whether this pattern will resolve into an upward breakout or a downward move.
The Market’s Statistics
At the TSX, advancing issues outnumbered declining issues by roughly one to one. There were 1,068 advancers and 974 decliners, resulting in an advancer-to-decliner ratio of 1.09 to 1, with 164 issues unchanged.
The exchange recorded 114 new 52-week highs and 18 new 52-week lows, compared with 100 new highs and 28 new lows yesterday.
Total trading volume on the TSX reached 425,721,899 shares, an 8% decline from the 464,549,764 shares traded the previous session.
Toronto Market Wrap-Up Report
The Toronto Stock Exchange concluded the session on a positive note, with the benchmark index posting a modest gain. Sector performance was mixed, though Technology and Financials joined Basic Materials—up 1.74%—and Healthcare—up 0.79%—as the four advancing sectors. Energy underperformed, reflecting continued rotation away from cyclicals. Within industry groups, Precious Metals remained among the top contributors, supported by broad-based strength in gold and silver mining equities.
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (TSX: AEM) attracted attention after National Bank raised its price target to $300.00 from $285.00, underscoring ongoing confidence in the company’s operational and commodity-price outlook. Shopify Inc. (TSX: SHOP) also displayed constructive technical behavior, appearing to enter the early phase of building the right side of a potential cup formation—typically a precursor to intermediate-term base development.
Company Highlights
Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX: TD) registered another 52-week high, surpassing its prior peak of C$122.76 set on December 8. The stock advanced 1.08% (+$1.30) to close at $123.47, although trading volume of 3.49 million shares remained below its 50-day average of 6.7 million—an indication that institutional accumulation may not yet be broad-based. Manulife Financial Corporation (TSX: MFC) increased 0.74% (+$0.36) to close at $48.82, continuing its steady upward trend.
MDA Space Ltd. (TSX: MDA) and Telesat Corp. (TSX: TSAT) jointly secured a multibillion-dollar federal contract to develop military satellite communications capabilities, a key component of Canada’s initiative to strengthen Arctic defense in response to heightened geopolitical risks involving Russia and China. MDA shares rose 4.01% (+$0.98) to $25.39 on 1.69 million shares traded. Despite the rally, the stock remains below its 25-day and 50-day moving averages, suggesting that further technical repair is required; the contract award, however, may help accelerate sentiment recovery. Telesat surged 11.41% (+$4.57) to close at $44.63 on relatively light volume of 34.5K shares.
Shopify Inc. Class A ended the session 12.4% below its 52-week high of C$253.10. Daily volume of 1.3 million shares remained below its 50-day average of 1.6 million, suggesting subdued participation during the current consolidation phase.
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The US Markets
Major U.S. equity benchmarks delivered a mixed performance in today’s trading session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 179.03 points, or 0.38%, to close at 47,560.29, reflecting weakness among large-cap constituents. The S&P 500 posted a more modest loss of 6.00 points, or 0.09%, finishing at 6,840.51. In contrast, the Nasdaq Composite advanced 30.58 points, or 0.13%, to end the session at 23,576.49, supported by continued resilience in technology-oriented components.
The Russell 2000 Index rose 5.26 points, or 0.21%, to close at 2,526.24, marking its second consecutive session as the day’s top-performing major index. The relative strength in small caps suggests ongoing rotation into higher-beta segments of the market, even as mega-cap names exhibited softer momentum.
Intraday market dynamics were notable. The Dow Jones opened substantially above the prior session’s close but lost momentum by mid-day, retreating sharply and finishing well below its intraday peak—an indication of selling pressure or profit-taking among large-cap investors. Meanwhile, the Russell 2000 briefly touched a new all-time high mid-session before pulling back. However, sufficient underlying demand supported the index, enabling it to maintain a positive close.
Today’s U.S. Market Statistics
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE): Market breadth on the NYSE was moderately positive, with advancing issues outnumbering decliners. The exchange reported 2,288 advancers versus 2,005 decliners, along with 415 unchanged issues. This produced an advancer-to-decliner ratio of 1.14 to 1, indicating a modestly constructive underlying tone despite the mixed performance of the major indexes.
The NYSE recorded 209 new 52-week highs and 56 new 52-week lows, compared with 167 new highs and 68 new lows in the prior session—reflecting an improvement in leadership and a broadening of stocks achieving new yearly highs.
Total NYSE trading volume reached 4,608,568,880 shares, representing a 6% decline from yesterday’s 4,886,191,167 shares. The lighter volume suggests that today’s breadth strength occurred in a somewhat less active trading environment.
NASDAQ: At the NASDAQ, advancing issues also outpaced decliners, with 2,642 advancers and 2,137 decliners, alongside 315 unchanged issues. This generated an advancer-to-decliner ratio of 1.23 to 1, or roughly six advancers for every five decliners. The ratio indicates moderate positive breadth, consistent with the index’s relative outperformance today.
The exchange reported 159 new 52-week highs and 107 new 52-week lows, compared with 202 new highs and 101 new lows yesterday. The decline in new highs suggests a slight cooling in upward momentum among growth-oriented and technology-heavy equities.
Total NASDAQ trading volume amounted to 7,386,467,881 shares, a notable 16% decrease from the prior session’s 8,777,237,113 shares. The volume contraction may indicate reduced participation in the day’s modest gains, particularly among momentum-driven segments.
U.S. Market Wrap-Up Report
Markets are positioning cautiously ahead of tomorrow’s Federal Reserve announcement. The Fed’s two-day policy meeting begins Tuesday and will conclude with the Chairman’s press conference on Wednesday afternoon—an event that typically acts as a meaningful catalyst for market direction. Investors historically reduce risk-taking in the hours leading up to the press conference, and similar behavior is expected this week. We advise readers to adopt a prudent approach to trading until the Chairman’s remarks are underway. Market consensus currently anticipates a quarter-percentage-point rate cut.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the weakest of the major indexes today, weighed down in part by JPMorgan Chase, which signaled higher future expenses. Despite the mixed performance among the indexes, overall market breadth improved compared with the prior session. Seven sectors finished the day in positive territory, with Basic Materials and Energy leading sector gains. Telecommunications Services lagged the market, reflecting softer sentiment within the sector.
Commodities and Bonds
Oil Price: Crude Oil price was down today more than 1.1% earlier today. Crude Oil was at $58.26 per barrel, as of the time (11:30 pm EDT, Tuesday) of this post update.
Gold price is down -$7.90, or -0.19%, at $4,228.00 per troy ounce, while silver price is up $0.96, or 1.55%, at $61.75 per ounce as of the time of this post update.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was trading down – $486.72 or -0.51% at $92,669.89 as of the time of this post update.
10 –year Treasury Yield: The 10-year yield is at 4.20%, as of the time (11:30 pm EDT, Tuesday) of this post update.
After-hours action: Stock Futures are up but little changed Tuesday evening. Dow Futures is up 10.00 points or 0.03% vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures is up 7.50 points or 0.12% at 6,856.25 and Nasdaq 100 futures is up 22.00 points or 0.09% at 25,722.00 as of the time (11:30pm EDT, Tuesday) 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.
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(c) This article is published by The Canadian Vanguard on December 9, 2025
