Canada Stocks: TSX notches record closing high on Middle East peace hopes

Hudbay Minerals

25/05/2026 21:19

Updates at market close

TSX ends up 1% at 34,830.89

Eclipses March 2 record closing high

Materials group adds 4.4% as gold rises

Energy sector loses 3.4% as oil declines 6.5%

By Tharuniyaa Lakshmi and Fergal Smith

May 25 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose to a record closing high on Monday as the prospect of a deal to end the war in the Middle East boosted investor sentiment, with technology and metal mining shares among the biggest gainers.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE ended up 359.53 points, or 1%, at 34,830.89, eclipsing the record closing high it posted on March 2.

Iran's top negotiator and its foreign minister were in Doha for talks with Qatar's prime minister on a potential deal with the U.S. to end the three-month war, an official briefed on the visit said.

"There have been repeated false hopes of a resolution, but this is how markets trade ... even a non‑zero chance the conflict ends is enough to push stocks higher and oil lower, though we're not 100% convinced this is the real deal," said Brian Madden, chief investment officer at First Avenue Investment Counsel.

The materials sector .GSPTTMT, which includes metal mining shares, rose 4.4% as gold prices climbed on easing fears of inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates.

Shares of Hudbay Minerals HBM.TO rose 8.9% and those of First Quantum Minerals FM.TO were up 8.4%.

The technology sector .SPTTTK added 2.1% and financials .SPTTFS ended 0.9% higher.

Canada's major banks, which include Royal Bank of Canada RY.TO and Toronto-Dominion Bank TD.TO, the two highest-weighted stocks on the TSX, are due to report quarterly results on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Energy .SPTTEN was the only major sector to end lower, losing 3.4%, as the price of oil CLc1 declined 6.5%.

Much of Canada's oil is produced in Alberta. Prime Minister Mark Carney said the province's planned vote on potentially breaking away from the rest of Canada, while not binding, could become "a dangerous bluff."

The TSX has advanced 9.8% since the start of the year after advancing 28.2% in 2025.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru
Editing by Rod Nickel and Paul Simao)

((fergal.smith@thomsonreuters.com; +1 647 480 7446))