TSX Remains Firmly Down Despite Softer-than-expected Inflation Data

(RTTNews) - Despite coming well off its early low, the Canadian market remains firmly down in negative territory a little past noon on Tuesday, with stocks from materials and energy sectors continuing to struggle for support.

Weak precious metals triggered heavy selling the materials sector and hurt the market despite data showing softer than expected consumer price inflation.

Canada's inflation rate dropped a bit to 2.3% in January 2026 from 2.4% in December 2025, data from Statistics Canada showed. Core consumer prices in Canada increased 2.6% in January of 2026 over the same month in the previous year, after coming in at 2.8% in December.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which tumbled to 32,537.12 in early trades, losing nearly 450 points in the process, was down 271.04 points or 0.81% at 32,802.67 a little while ago.

The Materials Capped Index is down 3.2%. Ssr Mining, Aya Gold & Silver, Fi rst Majestic Silver,Capstone Mining and Fortuna Mines are down more than 7%. Discovery Silver Corp., Vizsla Silver Corp., Silvercorp Metals, Ivanhoe Mines, OceanaGold, Endeavour Silver Corp., Aris Gold Corporation, Skeena Resources and Eldorado Gold are down 5%-7%.

The Energy Capped Index is down 1.4%. Imperial Oil is declining 3% and Advantage Oil & Gas is down 2.5%. Suncor Energy, Cenovus Energy, Vermilion Energy, Baytex Energy, Parex Resources, Canadian Natural Resources, Whitecap Resources, Tourmaline Oil Corp., International Petroleum Corporation and Paramount Resources are down with sharp to moderate losses.

Industrials stocks Bombardier Inc., Mda Ltd., and Brookfield Business Partners are up 6.5%, 5.2% and 4%, respectively. AtkinsRealis, Aecon Group, WSP Global, Exchange Income, Ats Corp., and Cargojet are down 2%-3.4%.

Utilities stocks Brookfield Renewable Partners, Hydro One, Emera Inc., and Canadian Utilities are gaining 1%-2.2%.

Real estate stocks Crombie Real Estate Investment Trust, Northwest Healthcare, First Capital and Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust are gaining 2%-2.5%, while consumer staples stocks North West Company, Metro, Loblaw and Empire Company are up 0.5%-1.5%.