TSX up 44 Points at Midday With Energy The Best Performer

12:20 PM EST, 01/28/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange is up 44 points in choppy trade at midday, boosted by gains in the energy sector, up 0.7%.

Financials and industrials are the worst performers, down 0.8% and 0.6%, respectively, followed by technology down 0.5%.

As was widely expected, the Bank of Canada held rates steady at 2.25% for the second time in a row. Royce Mendes at Desjardins said the Bank of Canada's description of economic conditions is "now much more guarded". He noted the Governing Council sounded less concerned about upside risks to the inflation outlook, with the Monetary Policy Report stating inflationary pressures have eased.

"These sentiments are completely consistent with our expectation that the Bank of Canada would sound less concerned today about upside risks to inflation and more concerned about downside risks to growth. As a result, we believe that it's difficult to make a strong case for rate hikes this year. In the near-term, risks to the policy rate are tilted to the downside, particularly with the CUSMA review expected to be volatile," writes Mendes.

In looking at the key implications, TD said there was not much of a surprise from the BoC as the data stream has essentially fallen in line with the bank's expectations. Inflation has continued to moderate (absent base-effects from the GST/HST holiday), and economic growth is generally in line with expectations.

TD also noted the emphasis on uncertainty in the statement was prominent, with the bank flagging the data-dependent approach in the coming months as the CUSMA review and geopolitical events could shift the outlook in 2026. Still, TD said its baseline outlook is relatively in line with the BoC, with below-trend growth helping inflation continue to moderate. "Under these conditions we expect the BoC to stay on the sidelines in the coming months," it added.

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