Why Did Canada's TSX Rise 0.9% While 72% of Stocks Fell?

Canada's main stock benchmark, the S&P/TSX Composite Index, rose 0.90% on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, to close at 35,983.98. It was the first session after the Thanksgiving holiday closure and it looked like a solid win. Yet underneath the headline, most Canadian stocks went down. Of the companies tracked on the day, about 72% declined and only 28% advanced. The S&P/TSX SmallCap Index slipped 0.43% to 1,424.80, and the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index fell 1.50% to 860.93.

For retail investors asking why the Canadian stock market is up today when so many stocks are down, the answer is that a handful of very large companies did most of the lifting. This article explains how that works, which stocks carried the index, why smaller stocks lagged and what the pattern means for ordinary investors.

What happened to the S&P/TSX Composite Index today

The TSX Composite gained roughly 319 points from Friday's close of 35,664.62. It opened at 35,711 and touched an intraday high near 36,046. Earlier reports quoted slightly different closing levels depending on the data feed, and the final figure of 35,983.98 sits within the range of 35,980 to 36,033 seen in some reports. Official TMX data remains the final word. The rise followed a strong Friday, when the index gained about 1.5%, the largest move in weeks.

Leadership came from energy, mining and precious metals, financials, retail and selected technology stocks. Telecom shares were the main drag. Those sector gains were real, but they were concentrated in big names, which is the key to the rest of this story.

The hidden weakness: what market breadth is telling us

Market breadth is a simple way to check how many stocks are taking part in a move. On Tuesday, 653 stocks advanced while 1,710 declined. That gives net advances of minus 1,059 and an advance to decline ratio of 0.38. A ratio below 1.0 means more stocks fell than rose, and 0.38 is a clear lean to the downside. Trading volume told a similar story. About 251.6 million shares traded in rising stocks, compared with about 307.2 million in falling stocks, so more money moved through the losers than through the winners.

Longer-term measures also look soft. Only about 29% of stocks are trading above their 20-day moving average, about 27% above their 50-day average and about 28% above their 200-day average. A moving average is simply the average price over a set number of days, and a stock above it is usually in a healthier trend. When fewer than three in ten stocks clear these levels, most of the market is struggling even if the index looks fine.

The sharpest clue is the gap between big and average stocks. An equal-weight version of the index, where every company counts the same, trailed the standard S&P/TSX Composite by about 6.0% over one month. Only 25% of stocks beat the index over one month and only 35% over three months. In plain terms, the typical Canadian stock has lagged the index badly.

Think of a school class where three students score 100 and the rest score 50. The class average looks respectable, but most students are struggling. The TSX works the same way because it is a market capitalization weighted index, meaning bigger companies have a bigger vote.

Who carried the index: banks, pipelines and oil

The highest volume stocks of the day show exactly where the buying was. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX: TD) rose 2.22% to C$167.83. Royal Bank of Canada (TSX: RY) gained 1.27% to C$277.25, and Bank of Montreal (TSX: BMO) added 1.33% to C$235.18. Energy names were equally strong. Canadian Natural Resources (TSX: CNQ) jumped 4.79% to C$74.19, TC Energy (TSX: TRP) gained 2.33% to C$87.69 and Enbridge (TSX: ENB) rose 1.56% to C$67.55.

These companies are among the largest in the country, so each percentage point they gain moves the index far more than a gain in a small company would. Banks benefited as bond yields eased. Canada's 10-year yield slipped to roughly 3.85% to 3.88%. When yields fall, borrowing becomes cheaper and stocks that pay dividends look more attractive compared with bonds.

A second support was Friday's soft jobs report, which showed employment falling by 68,300 in September and unemployment rising to 6.5%. That reduced expectations that the Bank of Canada would raise interest rates soon, which helps banks, retailers and growth companies. A third support was commodities. Gold held near $4,160 to $4,190, and oil stayed in a wide range even with some pullback, which kept resource stocks in favour.

Company news added to the mix. Enerflex (TSX: EFX) rose 14.16% to C$39.11 and landed among the day's top gainers after its data-centre power announcement. Aritzia (TSX: ATZ) surged on strong quarterly results. Telecom stocks fell, with BCE down about 5% in recent data, and they limited the index gain.

Why small caps and the TSX Venture Exchange lagged

The TSX Venture Exchange is home to smaller, younger and riskier companies, many of them junior miners and early-stage energy explorers. These businesses often have little or no profit and rely on raising fresh money from investors. When commodity prices swing or growth worries rise, investors tend to sell the riskiest names first and move money to larger, steadier companies. That is consistent with the Venture index falling 1.50% and the small cap index slipping 0.43% on a day when the headline index rose.

The list of the most extreme movers shows how wild this part of the market can be. Centaurus Energy (CTA) rose 138.50% to C$5.08, Eventer Technologies (EVNT) gained 41.51% to C$1.50 and Roxmore Resources (RM) climbed 31.20% to C$6.98. Medicure (MPH) added 24.16% to C$3.70 and TeraGo (TGO) rose 14.74% to C$1.79.

On the other side, Halmont Properties (HMT) dropped 26.05% to C$0.88, Liberty Defense Holdings (SCAN) fell 15.19% to C$2.29 and Stardust Metal (ZIGY) lost 13.23% to C$1.64. Optimi Health (OPTI) declined 12.28% to C$5.00, Valor Gold (VGC) fell 12.00% to C$2.42 and Ur-Energy (URE) dropped 11.81% to C$1.27. Among the most volatile stocks, Atlantic Horizon Capital (ATLH.P) fell 83.33% to C$0.010, Postmedia Network Canada (PNC.A) dropped 67.39% to C$0.150 and DFR Gold (DFR) lost 44.44% to C$0.025.

The available data does not explain the reason for each of these moves, so investors should not assume a cause. What the numbers do show is that very low priced stocks can produce huge percentage swings from tiny price changes. A move from one cent to nothing looks dramatic in percentage terms, yet the dollar amount is small. Large moves in thinly traded stocks are also easier to trigger and easier to reverse.

The Canadian dollar and global cross-currents

The Canadian dollar strengthened on the day. The U.S. dollar was priced at 1.4218 Canadian dollars, down 0.44% on the day and 0.26% over the week, which is consistent with a Canadian dollar near 70.3 US cents. The euro slipped 0.08% to 1.5918 Canadian dollars, the British pound eased 0.06% to 1.8843, the Swiss franc fell 0.25% to 1.7067 and the Chinese yuan declined 0.52% to 0.2119.

The longer view is more nuanced. Over one month the U.S. dollar is still up 2.79% against the Canadian dollar, and over five years it is up 14.07%. A one-day currency move does not change that bigger picture. U.S. stock markets were mixed to lower on Tuesday amid pressure on technology and semiconductor shares, while Canada's resource-heavy index diverged positively.

What retail investors should do with this information

The first lesson is not to judge your own portfolio by the headline index. If you hold large Canadian banks, pipelines and oil producers, Tuesday looked very good. If you hold junior resource stocks, small caps or Venture Exchange names, it probably looked poor. Check which group your holdings belong to before reacting.

The second lesson is to watch market breadth. When an index rises while most stocks fall, the advance depends on a few leaders. That can continue for a long time, yet it also means the market is more fragile, because a stumble in just a few giant companies can pull the whole index down. Many analysts view a broad advance, where most stocks rise together, as a healthier sign.

The third lesson is to keep an eye on the drivers behind the move. Key items include Bank of Canada interest rate decisions, Canadian bond yields, oil and gold prices, upcoming inflation data and U.S. bank earnings. Investors who prefer simplicity can use a broad TSX index fund, while those who choose individual shares should compare earnings growth, debt levels and dividend history instead of chasing a single strong session.

Exact closing levels can vary slightly by source, so please confirm figures with official TMX and company data.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice.