Stocks sink as war grinds on

Melisa R. H. Posted On March 26, 2026

Investor hopes for a speedy resolution in the US-Israel-Iran war faded Thursday as Iran continued to deny there are any ceasefire talks while Trump gave conflicting and confusing signals. There was selling across the board in New York: the S&P -1.74%, the Nasdaq -2.38% and the Dow -1.01%. Meanwhile, the TSX closed -1.54%. WTI jumped US$4 to US$94.40, while gold sank US$105 to US$4,400, silver tumbled 3.6% to US$68 and the U.S. 10-year yield continued to tick higher to 4.402% as inflation fears rise.

In Toronto, only utilities climbed higher as materials and tech suffered heavy losses. Key movers: Barrick Mining -3.73%, Whitecap Resources 2.12%, Celestica -9.35%, Americas Silver -9.15% and Cogeco Communications -8.3%. In New York: Nvidia -4.16%, Intel -6.53%, Alphabet -3.44%, Micron -6.97% and Sandisk -11.02%. Meanwhile, Bitcoin declined 2.6% to US$69,125.