This is the midday brief for Tue, May 26, 2026. View latest

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Midday Edition. Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Curated market context for passive investors.

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$44.32
-0.98%

Headline

XEQT falls 0.98% as Iran ceasefire doubts pressure three of four sleeves.

XEQT is down 0.98% in midday trading, sitting at $44.32, as fresh U.S. strikes on Iran revived doubts about a peace deal and weighed on sentiment across Canada, the United States, and international developed markets. The U.S. sleeve is the largest drag at -0.94%, contributing -0.42 percentage points, though part of that move reflects the sleeve catching up after Monday's Memorial Day closure. Emerging markets are the lone bright spot, rising 0.54% and limiting further downside for the fund.

How large is this afternoon's move?

Larger-than-usual day · This afternoon's -0.98% move is 1.3× the 20-day average move.

This scale measures size, not what to do. Larger moves are a normal part of holding a global all-equity fund.

The Regions

  • Canada

    25.28% of XEQT

    • XIC.TO
    -0.70% -0.18 pts from XEQT

    The Canadian sleeve is down 0.70%, contributing -0.18 percentage points to XEQT. Technology and consumer staples are the steepest decliners among tracked sectors, while industrials and energy are providing partial offsets. Financials, the largest tracked sector at roughly a third of the sleeve, are down a modest 0.48%, which is limiting the overall damage.

    Canada market region icon

  • United States

    45.29% of XEQT

    • XTOT.TO
    • ITOT
    -0.94% -0.42 pts from XEQT

    The U.S. sleeve is down 0.94%, but within that figure there is a notable split. Technology is up 2.32% among the tracked sectors, and industrials are up 1.27%, yet energy is off 2.02% and consumer staples are down 1.33%, consistent with optimism around the Hormuz situation pushing oil lower while lifting rate-sensitive and growth exposures. U.S. stocks are also catching up with gains elsewhere after the prior session's closure, which shapes the blended sleeve result.

    United States market region icon

  • Intl Developed

    24.46% of XEQT

    • XEF.TO
    -0.91% -0.22 pts from XEQT

    XEF is down 0.91%, a result that sits in tension with the sleeve's own component detail: Japan is up 1.26% and Germany, France, and Spain are all meaningfully higher among tracked markets. European equities pulled back after U.S. strikes on Iran clouded peace-deal prospects, and the ECB has signaled it will likely raise its inflation outlook in June, adding a rate headwind. The untracked portion of the sleeve and intraday reversals likely account for much of the gap between the positive country moves and the sleeve's net negative return.

    Intl Developed market region icon

  • Emerging Mrkts

    4.86% of XEQT

    • XEC.TO
    +0.54% +0.03 pts to XEQT

    XEC is the session's standout, up 0.54% and adding roughly 0.03 percentage points to XEQT. South Korean equities surged 8.81% among tracked exposures, with the KOSPI crossing above 8,000 points as foreign investors returned on U.S.-Iran deal expectations. Taiwan-related equities rose 4.97% among tracked exposures, with semiconductor-linked names contributing alongside the broader Asia tech rally.

    Emerging Markets market region icon

Colored bars represent biggest contributors to XEQT's move this afternoon (threshold = ±0.1 percentage points). Returns are daily ETF price moves for tracked regional or sector categories and may differ slightly from raw index movements.

The Hold Line

Three sleeves declining while one advances is a reminder that XEQT's geographic breadth does not eliminate drawdown days, but it does reshape them. The 0.98% move is roughly 1.3 times the recent 20-day average daily swing, so it is elevated but not unusual. What is notable is the internal composition: the emerging markets sleeve, which has returned 24.42% year-to-date, is absorbing some of the geopolitical shock that is pressuring developed markets, a structural offset that would not exist in a single-region fund. XEQT's month-to-date gain remains substantial, and a single midday session does not change the longer frame.

Signals

  • 01

    South Korea equities surge 8.81%

    South Korean equities rose 8.81% among tracked emerging market exposures, with the KOSPI crossing 8,000 points as foreign investors returned on U.S.-Iran peace deal expectations, and Taiwan-related equities added 4.97% in the same session. Together these two markets, representing roughly 47% of the emerging markets sleeve, turned what would have been a broader four-sleeve decline into a three-sleeve story, limiting XEQT's loss by a meaningful margin.

  • 02

    XTOT and CAD-adjusted ITOT diverge sharply

    The CAD-listed U.S. component fell 1.95% while the USD-listed counterpart, translated back to Canadian dollars, gained 0.58%, a gap of 2.53 percentage points that reflects the Memorial Day catch-up dynamic playing out differently across the two instruments rather than a currency move, since CAD/USD barely shifted. The blended sleeve return of -0.94% is the authoritative figure, but the gap illustrates how the U.S. sleeve's single-day read can be distorted when the two components reprice from different starting points.

  • 03

    WTI crude falls 2.37% on Hormuz optimism

    WTI crude, a benchmark for global oil prices that influences energy sector earnings across multiple sleeves, fell 2.37% to $94.31, consistent with market expectations of improved tanker flow through the Strait of Hormuz if a U.S.-Iran deal materializes. Canadian energy is still up 0.37% among tracked sectors, suggesting the sleeve is not fully repricing lower oil, but U.S. energy is down 2.02%, making it the weakest tracked sector in the U.S. sleeve so far in the session.

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Key events from the last 20 days

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Apr 28 to May 26 · $42.10 → $44.32

+5.27%