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Shopify Just Pushed the TSX to a Record — Should You Be Buying, or Is It Too Late?

  Published August 6, 2026 If you glanced at the markets on Wednesday and saw the TSX hit another record high, there's a good chance one company did most of the heavy lifting: Shopify. The S&P/TSX Composite closed up 344.83 points, or 1%, at 36,146.42 on August 5 — its second straight record close. Shopify shares jumped 16.5%, their biggest one-day move in a year, after the Ottawa-based e-commerce company beat earnings expectations and issued a stronger-than-expected outlook for the rest of the year. Gold miners added to the rally too, as bullion prices climbed. What It Means for You: If you own a Canadian equity index fund or ETF in your RRSP or TFSA, you almost certainly own a slice of this move already — whether you meant to or not. What actually happened Shopify reported second-quarter revenue of $3.58 billion (U.S.), up 34% from a year earlier and well ahead of the roughly $3.45 billion analysts expected. Adjusted earnings came in at $0.42 a share versus the $0.40 expecte...
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Shopify Sends the TSX to a Record as Asia's Chip Stocks Get Hammered

 


August 6, 2026

Canadian investors woke up to a split-screen market this morning. At home, the TSX is coming off its best day in more than three months, powered by a blowout Shopify earnings report and a fresh leg up in gold. Overseas, it's a very different story: South Korea's Kospi cratered nearly 5% overnight as chip giants SK Hynix and Samsung got dumped, and Japan's Nikkei gave back some of Wednesday's gains too. Here's everything moving your money today.

🍁 TSX: Fresh Record on Shopify's Big Beat

The S&P/TSX Composite jumped 344.82 points, or 0.96%, to close at an all-time high of 36,146.42 on Wednesday, touching an intraday peak of 36,443.29 along the way. It was the index's biggest one-day percentage gain in over three months, and futures are pointing higher again this morning.

The star of the show was Shopify, which surged more than 20% in premarket trading after issuing an upbeat revenue outlook that suggested its AI tools are pulling in more merchants. Thomson Reuters also impressed, posting 9% revenue growth and raising its full-year organic growth forecast to roughly 8%. Miners rode gold's surge higher, and financials joined the rally too.

Index / StockLevel / MoveChange
S&P/TSX Composite (close)36,146.42+344.82 (+0.96%)
Shopify (premarket)—+20%+
Thomson Reuters revenue growth—+9% YoY

Also reporting today: Brookfield Asset Management, Manulife Financial, Nutrien, South Bow, WSP Global, and Finning International — a heavy Canadian earnings slate that could keep the TSX moving in either direction through the afternoon.

🇺🇸 US Markets: Dow Record, but Nasdaq Cracks

Wall Street's rally hit a speed bump on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 263 points to close at a record 54,349, but the S&P 500 slipped 0.17% to 7,723.55, snapping a four-session winning streak, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.83% as chipmakers sold off. Winners included Amgen, Nvidia, and Walt Disney; Alphabet, Chevron, and Amazon were among the laggards.

This morning, futures are mixed: Dow futures are up about 0.2-0.3%, S&P 500 futures are roughly flat, and Nasdaq 100 futures are down close to 0.5% as the AI-chip selloff spilling out of Asia weighs on sentiment. SpaceX shares are under fresh pressure — down as much as 14% at one point — as a lockup expiry frees up roughly $101 billion of shares for trading. AMD, SanDisk, and Western Digital are also getting hit on disappointing AI-capex reactions.

Weekly jobless claims land later this morning, a warm-up act for tomorrow's closely watched July nonfarm payrolls report.

🌍 Europe & Asia: A Tale of Two Regions

European markets are holding up fine so far this morning: Germany's DAX is roughly flat near 26,126, France's CAC 40 is up about 0.7% to 8,730, and the UK's FTSE 100 is up 0.2% to 10,913.

Asia is a much rougher picture. South Korea's Kospi plunged 4.59% to 6,295.44 — its worst session in weeks — as chip giant SK Hynix cratered more than 10% and Samsung Electronics fell 6.3%, both dragged down by overnight weakness in US semiconductor names. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.93% to 65,683.26 as AI and chip-equipment names like Tokyo Electron and Kioxia sold off, even as the broader Topix actually rose slightly, showing the pain is concentrated in a handful of expensive tech names rather than the whole market. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.8%, while Shanghai was little changed and Australia's ASX 200 eked out a 0.5% gain.

IndexLevelChange
Kospi (South Korea)6,295.44-4.59%
Nikkei 225 (Japan)65,683.26-0.93%
Hang Seng (Hong Kong)25,463.51-1.8%
FTSE 100 (UK)~10,913+0.2%
CAC 40 (France)~8,730+0.7%

🛢️ Oil, Gold & the Loonie

Oil is little changed and holding near recent lows after Iran and Oman reached an agreement on partially reopening the Strait of Hormuz, easing worries about a supply disruption. Brent crude dipped slightly to around $79.20 a barrel, while WTI eased to about $74.94-75.91. That's a welcome break from the wild swings of the past few weeks and should keep pump prices calm for now.

Gold is the other big story: spot prices jumped 2.3% on Wednesday to around US$4,168 an ounce, with futures pushing toward US$4,227-4,330, as investors piled into the metal on Middle East optimism and rate-cut hopes. That's excellent news if you're holding gold miners like Agnico Eagle or Barrick in your TFSA or RRSP.

The Canadian dollar strengthened for a second straight session, closing Wednesday at US$0.7130 (or $1.4026 per US dollar), up from US$0.7108 on Tuesday. The loonie has gained about 0.9% against the greenback over the past month, partly on a softer US dollar. That's a small but real break for anyone with a US trip, cross-border order, or USD credit card bill coming due.

💰 What It Means for You

  • RRSP/TFSA tech holders: If you hold Canadian tech through Shopify or a broad TSX index fund, today's pop is a nice tailwind — but if your portfolio leans into US or Asian semiconductor names, expect some red today.
  • Gold and mining investors: The rally in gold is lifting Canadian miners, which carry real weight on the TSX. Worth checking if your Canadian equity fund has meaningful materials exposure.
  • Cross-border shoppers and travellers: A slightly stronger loonie takes a little of the sting out of US purchases and travel costs, though the move is modest so far.
  • Gas prices: Steady oil near recent lows means no immediate relief or pain at the pump — a rare quiet day on that front.

👀 What's Next

Watch for US weekly jobless claims later this morning, followed by tomorrow's July nonfarm payrolls report — a big input for where the Fed goes next. Closer to home, keep an eye on today's wave of Canadian earnings (Brookfield, Manulife, Nutrien, and more), and don't lose track of the Aug. 19 deadline for the new US tariffs on Canadian wine, dairy, furniture, and hockey gear — now just 13 days away with no deal yet announced.

Market data as of Thursday morning, August 6, 2026. Figures are sourced from multiple providers and can shift throughout the trading day. This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advi

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