04:28 PM EST, 11/06/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday recorded its second big loss in three days as investors continue to digest the details of Tuesday's federal budget and any news that comes out on the cost of tariffs imposed by the United States on the Canadian economy, for clues on the outlook for the Canadian economy.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 234.89 points, or 0.8%, to 29,868.6. On Tuesday the index lost near 500 points, and recovered about 325 points of that sum yesterday.

Sectors were mixed, with Info tech down near 3.9%, Health Care down 3.7%, and Industrials down 2%. The Battery Metals Index was up 2.25%. Earlier this week, the federal budget outlined a $2 billion, five-year plan for a "critical minerals sovereign fund" that sees the government open up mining and position this country as a major global supplier through equity investments, loan guarantees and offtake agreements. The government will add more critical minerals to its exploration tax credit list.

In fresh commentary on this week's budget, The Canadian Press noted the government promises to enable $1 trillion in total investment, which it says could raise future gross domestic product and purchasing power for Canadians. But it cites Rachel Samson, vice-president of research at the Institute for Research on Public Policy, saying it remains to be seen how the plan will be executed. "The question is, will the private sector respond to these initiatives and will they invest? (Is it) enough to overcome some of the barriers they face, such as economic uncertainty (and) trade uncertainty? Have they calibrated these incentives to be enough to push businesses over the edge towards investment?" she said.

On the impact of U.S. tariffs on Canada, Scotiabank, in its latest Global Auto Report, noted Canadian auto sales slowed in October to 1.81-million units, down 2.8% month over month, at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) according to Omdia, formerly Wards Automotive. Meanwhile, auto sales in non-seasonally adjusted terms were 151,000 for October, down by 3.4% year-over-year. Annual growth in vehicle sales continues to ease through the second half of the year, after a strong start to 2025, at least some of which is likely due to demand that was pulled forward in the spring by consumers looking to front-run any potential tariff distortions to price and supply, the bank said.

Meanwhile, Scotia noted, this week's federal budget mentioned next steps on electric vehicles will be shared following the 60-day review of the Electric Vehicle Availability Standard (EVAS) policy, which was announced in September when the government removed the 2026 target of 20% sales being zero emission vehicles. The budget did not mention bringing back the iZEV program which ran out of funding at the beginning of this year.

Scotia said the outlook for Canadian light vehicle sales, which it is in the process of revising, is 1.89 million in 2025 and 1.84 million in 2026. "The automotive sales rate is expected to remain soft through the end of 2025, compared to the spring, as softer labour markets pose headwinds to consumer spending growth" it added.

Of commodities, gold edged lower late afternoon Thursday even as the dollar fell off a six-month high and treasury yields retreated. Gold for December delivery was last seen down US$4.50 to US$3,988.40 per ounce.

But West Texas Intermediate oil closed lower for a third day following a report from the Energy Information Agency showing an outsized rise in U.S. inventories last week. WTI crude oil for December delivery closed down $0.0.17 to settle $59.43 per barrel, while January Brent oil was last seen down US$0.38 to US$63.36.