Canada's S&P/TSX Tumbles 629 Points as Iran Tensions, Tech Weakness Weigh on Sentiment

Canadian stocks fell Friday, erasing earlier weekly gains, as escalating Middle East tensions and soft U.S. tech earnings weighed on the benchmark index. The S&P/TSX Composite settled at 35,620.03, down 629.00 points, or 1.74%. Investors fretted over stalled diplomacy after Iran left unanswered a letter from U.S. Vice President JD Vance urging preliminary talks. Mediators from Qatar returned to Iran with a revised proposal after Iran rejected a Sunday draft peace plan, while U.S. and Israeli forces reportedly prepare a short, intensive campaign against Iran after next week's U.S. midterm elections. President Donald Trump said the conflict would "get wrapped up soon" but offered no timeline. Three of 11 sectors gained: Communication Services (2.06%), Energy (1.71%), and Consumer Staples (0.95%). Industrials, Financials, Healthcare, IT, and Materials declined, with Materials down 4.84% on losses in Aris Mining (9.29%) and Lundin Mining (8.46%). Rogers Communications rose 3.39%; Imperial Oil gained 5.37%. Statistics Canada reported the economy likely contracted 0.10% month-on-month in September, with third-quarter GDP preliminarily estimated up 0.30%.