TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index finished higher Wednesday, while U.S. markets were mixed as interest rates came into focus amid a pair of decisions from the Bank of Canada and the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate steady while forecasting a gradual economic recovery from the U.S. tariff shock.
The policy rate remains at 2.25 per cent after the central bank’s first decision of the year. Economists had widely expected the hold.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve pushed the pause button on its interest rate cuts Wednesday, leaving its key rate unchanged at about 3.6 per cent after lowering it three times last year. The central bank said in a statement that there are signs the job market has stabilized while it also said growth was “solid,” an upgrade from last month’s characterization as “modest.”
“Lower interest rates are really important to both of us, south and north of the border,” said Jillian Bryan, senior investment adviser and senior portfolio manager at TD Wealth.
Lower rates could be of particular interest to Canadian homeowners, she said.
“A lot of people that renewed (their mortgage) five years ago are coming for renewal in Canada this year,” she said.
Commodity prices helped Canada’s main stock index on Wednesday.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 79.67 points at 33,176.07.
The March silver contract was up US$7.58 at US$113.53 an ounce, while the April gold contract was up US$219.60 at US$5,340.20 an ounce.
“Some of the silver stocks are taking a little bit of a pause, but silver is actually up today as is gold. Commodities from a technical perspective obviously have been a huge sector for Canada,” she said.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 12.19 points at 49,015.60. The S&P 500 index was down 0.57 points at 6,978.03, while the Nasdaq composite was up 40.35 points at 23,857.45.
The U.S. stock and bond markets each remained at a virtual standstill, while the U.S. dollar stabilized following its sharp recent slide.
Seagate Technology jumped 19.1 per cent for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after the seller of hard drives and other data-storage products reported a bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Dave Mosley cited demand driven by artificial intelligence applications, among other things.
“The story behind that is if you’re going to have AI, you need memory. So these memory stocks have really ripped,” Bryan said.
Nvidia, the stock that’s become the poster child of the AI boom, climbed 1.6 per cent and was the strongest single force lifting the S&P 500. It also benefited from an encouraging report from ASML, whose machinery helps make chips.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.69 cents US compared with 73.42 cents US on Tuesday.
The March crude oil contract was up 82 cents US at US$63.21 per barrel.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2026.
— With files from The Associated Press.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
