Central banks hold rates, stocks fade

Melisa R. H. Posted On March 18, 2026

Markets began Wednesday heading downward and accelerated losses after the central banks in Canada and the U.S. announced they would hold their key lending rates. Their decisions were expected by the street, but stocks still faded into the close: the S&P -1.36%, the Nasdaq -1.46%, the Dow -1.64% and the TSX -1.91% or down 629 points. The U.S. 10-year yield ticked up to 4.267%. Both central banks cited the US-Israel-Iran war as creating major uncertainty in the economic picture going forward.

In Toronto, only energy saw any gains while materials, staples and discretionary led 10 sectors down. Gold sank 3.66% to US$4,820, silver tumbled 5% to US$75.20 while WTI jumped 2.5% to US$96.65 as worries over an oil shortage endure. Key names on Bay Street included Barrick Gold -5.46%, B2Gold -4.98%, Boyd Group -13.17%, Seabridge Gold -12.36% and MDA Space 5.8%. In New York, Sandisk popped 4.65%, Comcast -5.02%, Amazon -2.48%, Carvana -7.49% and Otis -6.67%. Bitcoin slid nearly 5% to US$70,875.