Market recap: Week ended February 6, 2026

Markets struggled for direction

Canada’s TSX opened the week with a 0.8% gain on Monday, recouping losses from the previous sessions’ 3.31% tumble. Despite that setback, on Friday, January 30, the Canadian benchmark scored its ninth straight monthly gain, ending January 0.7% higher than December’s close. The commodities that weighed heavily on the TSX still felt pressure on Monday. Oil, gold and silver prices all fell, but a 1.7% gain in the financials sector, a 2.7% rise in consumer staples and a strong day for consumer discretionary stocks were enough to offset those losses. The story took a turn on Tuesday with a sharp rebound for gold and silver that drove metal mining shares 4.1% higher and helped the TSX add 0.6%. On Wednesday, the TSX gained 0.6%, benefitting from another resurgence – this time in the energy sector – with oil prices settling 3.05% higher. Consumer staples and consumer discretionary also had a strong day, rising 2.9% and 3.5%, respectively. The TSX tumbled 1.8% on Thursday, tracking losses on Wall Street but bounced back with a 1.5% gain on Friday as gold and silver prices continued to swing. Friday saw gold rally 4.8% higher and oil added 0.4% to give the materials and energy sectors a boost.

The outlook on Wall Street was stark when markets opened on Monday, as overnight declines for gold and silver weighed on futures. But rising tech enthusiasm boosted shares of Alphabet (up 1.9%) and Amazon (up 1.5%), which drove the major U.S. indexes to daily gains. The Dow climbed 1.1%, the Nasdaq added 0.6%, and the S&P 500 gained 0.5% to snap a three-day slide. The tale for U.S. markets also turned on Tuesday, with “Magnificent Seven” members Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon all losing ground. The Dow declined 0.3%, the S&P 500 gave back 0.8% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 1.4%. Losses mounted on Wednesday amid concerns that the AI rally may have peaked, with chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices posting a 17% daily loss. Big tech was at the centre of another sharp slide on Thursday. Despite better-than-expected quarterly results released Wednesday, Alphabet shares continued to fall after the company reported that its capital expenditures would reach US$185 billion this year. Microsoft and Amazon also weighed on markets, with the S&P 500 and the Dow declining 1.2%, and the ⁠Nasdaq losing 1.6%. Markets ended a tumultuous week in rally mode, though, with investors capitalizing on the volatility. The S&P 500 gained 2%, the Nasdaq surged 2.2% and the Dow rose 2.5% and surpassed 50,000 points for its highest close ever.

Precious metals remained under pressure

Gold and silver prices experienced volatility as the week began, but the sell-off that started on January 30, and continued through the weekend, eased on Monday. Spot gold finished the day down about 5%, but up from its intra-day low of 10%. Silver also trimmed losses to just 6% after it had fallen 16% in early trading. On Tuesday, the outlook improved slightly. Gold jumped 6.1% before adding another 3% on Wednesday. Silver rose 4.8% on Tuesday and another 8% on Wednesday. That resurgence – largely attributed to bargain hunters – was short-lived. Silver slipped 9% on Thursday (after falling as much as 16% at midday) and gold fell 1.9%. Gold’s record-setting rally, which peaked at US$5,595 per ounce in the last week of January, and the appeal of safe-haven assets, has largely been driven by geopolitical uncertainty. Recent examples include the United States’ actions in Venezuela and threats toward Greenland. This current sell-off began on January 30 with U.S. President Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh for Federal Reserve Chair. A former Fed governor, Warsh is expected by many experts to be more supportive of the U.S. dollar and more willing to use higher interest rates to reduce inflation, based on his record, which has diminished the appeal of some assets. This seems at odds with Trump’s view, however. The U.S. president, who has been outspoken in his criticism of the current Fed chair Jerome Powell for not lowering borrowing costs faster, said in a media interview on Wednesday that Warsh “would not have gotten the job” if he believed Warsh would raise rates. As of last week, though, JP Morgan still forecasts gold to reach US$6,300 an ounce in 2026, and Deutsche Bank has its target at US$6,000.

Investors focused on economic data

Separate Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) reports highlighted Canadian and U.S. service-sector activity last week. The indexes, which are based on a survey of supply chain managers across multiple industries, are measured on a scale from 0 to 100, with a number above 50 considered an expansion, and under 50 considered a contraction. On Monday, S&P Global Canada data showed a contraction for the Canadian services economy for a third straight month. The index was down modestly at 46.4 from 46.7 in December. In the U.S., the Institute for Supply Management reported on Monday an expansion at 52.4, surpassing the 51.9 that was forecast.

On Friday, Statistics Canada reported that Canada lost 24,800 jobs in January and the unemployment rate edged down to 6.5% (a 16-month low) from 6.8% in December, as the number of people looking for work declined last month. The forecast for January was an increase of 7,000 jobs after the economy added 10,100 positions in December. Key highlights included: full-time employment rose by 44,900 jobs, while part-time employment fell by 69,700. The manufacturing sector - one the hardest hit by U.S. tariffs – lost 27,500 positions.