TSX up 62 Points at Midday With Telecoms, Tech Stocks, Best Performers

12:11 PM EDT, 10/16/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange is up 62 points at midday with telecoms and info tech, up 1% and 0.8%, respectively, the biggest gainers.

Miners and energy are the biggest decliners, down 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively.

In terms of domestic economic news, Canadian housing starts increased 14% month-on-month (m/m) in September to 279.2k units, compared with the 17% m/m drop in August. Stripping away monthly volatility, the six-month moving average of starts increased 4.1% m/m to 277.1k units. BMO Economics was looking for a modest increase to 255k annualized units in the month.

On key implications, TD said: "Builders continue to break ground on new homes at a very healthy pace, with starts rising last month and remaining elevated. However, over the past two months, they've cooled a bit (on average) from the ultra-robust rate observed earlier in the year (that was supported by rental units). And, they were down 3% quarter-on-quarter in Q3, about in line with what we'd expected. This will weigh on growth in the residential investment component of GDP."

BMO Economics said other data released today showed existing home sales were down 1.7% in the month (seasonally adjusted), but were up 5.2% from a year ago. The MLS benchmark price was down 3.4%, reflecting ample inventory and buyers still holding back.

In other news, industry minister Melanie Joly said Ottawa is threatening legal action against Stellantis over its shifting of Jeep production from Canada to the U.S.. Joly also said financial relief is coming for the softwood lumber sector.

BMO (BMO.TO) also said today that it is selling 138 U.S. branches to First Citizen, but plans to open 150 new branches over the next five years.

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