Minerals and stocks plunge on Iran war fears

Melisa R. H. Posted On March 3, 2026

Stocks nearly across the board sank on Tuesday over fears of a protracted war in Iran. The VIX jumped over 30% in early trading before calming and markets in Toronto and New York closed well off session lows. However, by the close, the TSX stood at -2.32%, the S&P -0.98%, the Nasdaq -1.07% and the Dow -0.88% or down more than 400 points. Metals tanked. Silver slid 7.7% to US$82.40 and gold tumbled 4.1% to US$5,100. Meanwhile, WTI continued to surge, up 4.3% to US$74.30.

Mining names were hardest hit: Barrick -8.49%, B2Gold -8.54%, New Gold -10.74%, Newmont -7.93% and Albemarle -7.55%. Only two sectors were positive in Toronto, led by tech. Also on Bay Street: Pet Valu -10.89% and Paramount Resources 7.49%. On Wall Street: Intel -5.27%, Ford -5.18% and Sandisk -8.67%. Bitcoin lost 2% to US$68,035. The U.S. 10-year yield held at 4.06%.