The S&P/TSX Composite closed at 36,091.61 on Wednesday, up 265.88 points or 0.74%, snapping a three-session losing streak that had taken the index down from its August 25 closing high of 36,957.63 to 35,825.73 by Tuesday. Materials stocks did the heavy lifting, gaining 2.6% as a sector on firmer gold and silver prices, while the Bank of Canada's decision to hold its policy rate at 2.25% removed a source of uncertainty that had weighed on sentiment into the announcement.
The rebound came on the same day the conflict it was supposedly shrugging off kept widening. The U.S. carried out a second wave of strikes on Iranian military infrastructure this week, and Iran retaliated against targets in Jordan, Bahrain, Iraq and Kuwait. Crude oil rose on the news. The TSX rose anyway.
What Actually Moved the Index Higher
The index has spent the past four weeks oscillating within about 1,100 points of its August 25 record, with Wednesday's rebound recovering roughly 40% of the ground lost since Monday.
The S&P/TSX Composite closed at 36,091.61 on September 2, up 0.74% after the Bank of Canada held its policy rate and mining stocks rallied on firmer gold and silver prices. The index remains about 2.6% below the closing high of 36,957.63 it set on August 25.
The rebound was narrower than the headline number suggests. Basic materials led on the strength of gold and silver miners, a continuation of the same safe haven positioning that has defined trading since the Iran conflict escalated. Energy stocks added support as crude prices firmed. Financials and technology, the two sectors that had led Monday's and Tuesday's declines, did not fully participate in the recovery.
That sector split matters for how durable the bounce is. A rally led narrowly by miners and energy, on a day when the Bank removed one specific source of uncertainty, is a different signal than a broad-based recovery across every sector. The index closing 2.6% below its record, rather than reclaiming it outright, reflects that narrower participation.
The Setup Into Thursday and Friday
Two forces are now pulling in different directions. The Bank of Canada hold removes one source of near-term uncertainty, and mining and energy names have a clear mechanism to keep contributing gains as long as the Iran conflict keeps a bid under gold and oil. Set against that, the technology and industrial weakness that drove the three-day slide has not reversed, and Canada's own counter-tariffs take effect September 8, adding a domestic policy variable the market has not yet had to price against a live rate decision.
The August 25 record remains the level to watch. A close back above 36,957.63 would confirm the pullback was a shallow, sentiment-driven pause rather than the start of something more sustained. A failure to retest it over the next several sessions, even with gold and energy continuing to work, would suggest the technology and industrial weakness is the more durable signal.