04:18 PM EDT, 03/11/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange closed lower on Wednesday, the first drop of the week, as investors took their focus off the war on Iran and back to market fundamentals, including the valuations on Information Technology stocks, with that sector the biggest loser in Canada today.

The S&P/TSX Composite index closed down 150.82 points, or 0.45%, to 33,119.83, giving up the bulk of the 190 points gained over the last two sessions, even with most sectors higher, including both Energy and Base Metals.

The Energy sector rose 2.6% as West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil rose following a day-prior plunge even as members of the International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed to release 400-million barrels of strategic reserves to the market amid doubts that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will resume any time soon as the U.S.-Israel war on Iran continues. WTI oil for April delivery closed up US$3.80 to settle at US$87.25 per barrel after dropping 12% a day earlier. May Brent oil was up US$4.53 to US$92.33.

The Canadian Press cited Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson saying Wednesday Canada will "do its part" to lower the cost of oil globally as a bloc of nations looks to tame the surge in energy prices triggered by the war in the Middle East.

Base Metals was up 0.55% although gold traded lower Wednesday as the dollar rose after a U.S. inflation measure rose in line with expectations in February, lowering hopes the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. Gold for April delivery was last seen down $52.70 to US$5,189.40 per ounce.

Information Technology was down 2.8%. Within that sector, Celestica ( CLS ) lost 1.1%, but CIBC still remains bullish on that stock with an AI infrastructure cycle platform.

CIBC Capital Markets, in a 'Beyond The Headlines' report, assessed hyperscaler AI data center spending, its potential to grow and how Celestica ( CLS ) can continue to grow faster than the underlying market supported by its leadership in high-speed networking and supplying AI/ML compute, including leading edge custom deployments such as GOOG's Tensor Processor Units (TPUs) or custom application specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

The bank cut its price target on Celestica ( CLS ) shares to US$360 from US$400 reflecting a lower-multiple environment rather than any deterioration in fundamentals. It has an Outperformer recommendation on the stock.

"Our work suggests that Celestica's ( CLS ) guidance and consensus estimates remain conservative, despite improving visibility into capital spending plans at Google, Amazon, and OpenAI. We expect estimates to move higher through 2026 as program ramps, expansions, and capex expectations continue to be revised upward," CIBC said.

CIBC's scenario analysis indicates the current share price implies 2026 revenue near 7% above and 2027 revenue near 15% above FactSet estimates. For context, the bank said, Celestica ( CLS ) exceeded its own guidance by about 19% in 2025, highlighting management's historical conservatism.

CIBC believes the market is understating the earnings power embedded in Celestica's ( CLS ) existing customer base and the optionality from new programs. The bank's upside scenario captures this potential from: greater networking switch demand within AI data centers than FactSet's consensus estimate assumes, particularly in back-end architectures; durable 800G switch ramps along with the onset of multiple 1.6T switch program ramps beginning in the second half of 2026 and into 2027; expansion potential of existing programs with large customers and optionality from new wins supporting a path towards an upside scenario; and operating leverage, which the bank believes will outweigh near term margin mix concerns tied to server exposure.

CIBC's downside scenario assumes AI data center capex peaks in 2027, followed by a material decline. "While this risk cannot be dismissed, current demand signals and visibility into customer spending plans suggest the probability of this outcome remains low in the near term," it said.

The bank believes Celestica ( CLS ) is well positioned to outperform expectations through the AI infrastructure cycle. "As visibility improves and estimates reset higher, we see scope for the shares to re-rate over the course of 2026," it added.