TSX rises as tech boost, Carney-Xi meeting lift sentiment

Canada’s main stock index rose on Friday with technology shares leading the gains following strong U.S. big tech earnings, while investors monitored talks between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping who pledged stronger bilateral ties.

At 10:13 a.m. ET, Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.4% at 30,289.32 points, on track for a 0.9% monthly gain, which would mark its sixth consecutive monthly advance – a streak not seen since 2021.

Technology shares advanced 1.7%, positioning themselves to close October with a 12.7% gain.

This momentum mirrored Wall Street’s recovery, where optimistic forecasts from Apple and Amazon helped markets rebound from Thursday’s sharp decline.

“We had some good tech earnings last night, so it’s a tech- led rally today,” said Allan Small, senior investment advisor of the Allan Small Financial Group with iA Private Wealth.

“The tech sector has advanced in October, driven primarily by artificial intelligence. Celestica delivered exceptional results backed by AI innovations, while Shopify continues to perform impressively as the TSX’s most influential tech heavyweight.”

E-commerce giant Shopify scheduled to release quarterly results on November 4, saw its shares rise 2% on Friday, contributing to a 20% monthly gain. Meanwhile, data center infrastructure provider Celestica which recently raised its 2025 revenue forecast, surged 5% on the day, bringing its monthly gain to 44.8%.

Energy sector was another bright spot, rising 1% with shares of Baytex Energy gaining 5.4% after reporting third quarter results.

In a major development, Xi and Carney pledged to strengthen bilateral relations.

The leaders held a summit on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, at a time when Canada is struggling to lessen its dependence on the U.S. and seek new markets.

Economic data presented a mixed picture, with Canada’s August GDP unexpectedly contracting, though preliminary estimates suggest the economy might narrowly avoid a technical recession in the third quarter.

Among notable market movers, Probe Gold shares soared 39.1% after Mexican precious metals producer Fresnillo announced its acquisition of the Canadian mining company.