12:27 PM EDT, 03/20/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange is down near 290 points at midday, adding to the more than 1,000 points lost over the last two days. The index has erased all gains made since Dec. 31.

Miners and technology are the worst performers, down near 2.6% and 1%, respectively.

Energy is the sole gainer, up 0.27%.

Canadian retail sales data for January, and an advance reading for February, highlighted a "solid start" to 2020 for consumers.

CIBC said Canadian retail sales appear to be starting the year on a solid footing, with both the January update and February's advance estimate pointing to monthly gains of around 1%. Retail sales volumes appear set to post their strongest quarterly gain since at least the fourth quarter of 2024, albeit following consecutive declines during the second half of the year. However, the squeeze to disposable incomes from the recent jump in gasoline prices could see growth in sales volumes slow again in the second quarter, CIBC said.

Also, despite the solid start to the year for sales volumes, CIBC said they remain only 1.4% higher on a year-over-year basis. It will take a few more months to definitively say if retail sales are on a new upward trajectory and broken out of the largely sideways trend they were on throughout 2025, the bank added.

TD noted consumers "loosened their purse strings" to start the year, with retail sales rising in January and early indications pointing to continued demand in February. Momentum in services spending appears intact, based on its internal credit and debit card data, likely supported by higher-income households with greater financial buffers. This keeps TD's outlook for first-quarter real consumption growth at a "relatively healthy" 1.1% (quarter-on-quarter, annualized).

However, new headwinds, from higher prices at the pump to financial market volatility, risk weighing on demand through both higher costs and a potential reversal of wealth effects, TD said.

In stocks, Hammond Power Solutions (HOS-A.TO) is up near 18% after it reported a fourth-quarter adjusted earnings beat.