TSX closes near flat; bank stocks, Nvidia in spotlight

Investing.com - Canada’s main stock exchange finished near flat on Thursday, keeping close to record highs with bank earnings in the spotlight. 

Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index gained slightly, up 0.01% or 1.8 points, as of the 4:00 ET close. The S&P/TSX 60 index inched marginally lower by 0.05% or 0.9 points. 

The S&P/TSX composite closed Wednesday 0.3%, or 93 points, higher at 28,433.00, at a record closing high, while the S&P/TSX 60 rose 0.4%, or 6.6 points.

Toronto Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD) and Canadian Imperial Bank Of Commerce (NYSE:CM) became the latest domestic lenders on Thursday to report a rise in third-quarter profit. The bank stocks reacted differently in Thursday trade, however, with CIBC finishing 2%higher and TD slipping 4.5% on credit cost concerns.

Royal Bank of Canada (BMV:RYN), Canada’s largest bank, released blockbuster earnings on Wednesday, and earlier this week, the country’s fourth- and fifth-biggest lenders, Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) and Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS), also posted upbeat quarterly earnings.

In other news, Canada and India seemingly moved to ease tensions in Canada’s appointment of a new ambassador to India. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand made the announcement Thursday, describing it as "an important step towards restoring necessary diplomatic services to citizens and businesses in both countries."

Additionally, the economic data calendar includes the release of weekly jobless claims as well as quarterly gross domestic product, ahead of the PCE price index on Friday - the Fed’s preferred inflation measure - and the monthly payrolls report a week later.

Nvidia in spotlight 

On Wall Street, the spotlight will be on Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) after the chip designer and AI bellwether forecasted third-quarter revenue that was higher than Wall Street estimates. 

However, a miss on data center revenue and questions over China forecasts caused investors to question the company’s elevated valuation, resulting in its shares sliding in after-hours trading.

Shares of Nvidia were trading down 0.9% as of 12:55 ET, paring losses as Fox Business reported Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and the company are talking with the Trump administration about selling a higher-end, higher-margin AI chip in China.

More AI earnings

After U.S. and Canadian markets closed Thursday, tech leaders Dell and Marvell reported earnings.

Dell Technologies reported soft earnings guidance for the current quarter despite second-quarter results topping estimates as surging enterprise spending on AI servers continued to boost performance. AI server and PC leader’s stock dropped 4.5% in after-hours trade.

Similarly, Marvell reported in-line second quarter fiscal 2026 results but saw its shares tumble 8.1% as investors reacted to guidance that fell short of high expectations in the artificial intelligence sector. The data infrastructure semiconductor company posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.67, matching analyst estimates, while revenue reached a record $2.01 billion, also in line with consensus expectations.

Crude gains, U.S. driving season nears end

Oil prices fell throughout the day on expectations for lower U.S. fuel demand as the summer driving season draws near, even after a sharp drop in U.S. crude inventories. Later in the evening, prices gained on expectations of U.S. sanctions on Russian oil.

At 5:10 ET, Brent futures gained 0.3% to $67.66 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.25% to $64.31 a barrel.

Both contracts climbed in the prior session after the Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude inventories fell by 2.4 million barrels in the week ended August 22, a larger draw than the 1.9 million barrels forecast by analysts.

The drop signaled strong demand ahead of the upcoming U.S. Labor Day long weekend. However, this typically marks the unofficial end of the summer driving season and the onset of lower U.S. demand.

The gain reflected investor expectations of a prolonged war between Russia and Ukraine. German Chancellor Freidrich Merz indicated that the heads of both countries were unlikely to meet, pointing to a continuation of the conflict. 

Gold prices steadied near a two-week high, underpinned by bets on a September interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. 

Spot prices rose back above $3,400 an ounce, with heightened uncertainty over the Fed’s independence was a major driver of gold this week, after Trump attempted to fire Governor Lisa Cook. 

Spot gold gained 0.6% to $3,417.08/oz, while gold futures for October rose 0.8% to $3,477.00/oz as of 5:20 ET.