Canadian Markets Closed for the Civic Holiday — Where Things Stand After a Rough Week
The TSX is dark Monday for the August civic holiday. Heading into a short week: a Friday selloff, weak gold miners, and TELUS's surprise dividend reset.
Markets closed today
The Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, TSX Alpha and the Montreal Exchange are all closed Monday, August 3, 2026, for the civic holiday observed across much of Canada. Normal trading resumes Tuesday, August 4.
With no session today, it's a good moment to take stock of a bumpy end to July rather than react to a screen.
A soft finish to July
The S&P/TSX Composite slipped 0.79% to about 35,226 on Thursday, July 31, dragged down by gold miners as bullion weakened amid a jump in long-term U.S. Treasury yields. Agnico Eagle, Barrick and Wheaton Precious Metals all fell more than 2%, and technology names lagged, with Shopify off 4.3%.
Even so, the earnings backdrop stayed solid: roughly 64% of S&P/TSX companies beat forecasts this season, and Canadian National Railway posted strong second-quarter results.
The week's biggest personal-finance story: TELUS resets its dividend
The standout for income investors was TELUS, which fell 11.3% after a second-quarter loss and a decision to reset its quarterly dividend. Management cut the payout to bring it back to a sustainable share of free cash flow and prioritize paying down debt.
It's a reminder that a high yield is only as good as the free cash flow behind it — worth checking before you buy a stock for its dividend.
The takeaway
A quiet holiday is a fine time to review your own plan rather than the ticker. If you hold dividend stocks, confirm the payout is covered by cash flow, not borrowing.
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General news and information, not individualized financial advice. Figures reflect the publication date.