This is the close brief for Fri, Sep 18, 2026. View latest

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Close Edition. Friday, September 18, 2026

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$45.41
-0.22%

Headline

International developed markets drive XEQT's 0.22% decline after the Bank of Japan raises rates

XEQT closed at $45.41, down 0.22%, as international developed markets accounted for roughly three-quarters of the fund's decline. The Bank of Japan raised its benchmark rate to its highest level in 31 years, and the yen fell rather than rose in response, compressing Japanese equity returns for Canadian investors. European markets added to the pressure, with France and Germany each posting notable losses amid widening sovereign spreads and softening economic sentiment. The U.S. sleeve finished essentially flat, with a strong session for technology offsetting broad weakness elsewhere, while emerging markets edged higher on the strength of Taiwan and China.

How large is today's move?

Typical day · Today's -0.22% move is 0.5× 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

    25.47% of XEQT

    • XIC.TO
    -0.23% -0.06 pts from XEQT

    The TSX sleeve slipped 0.23%, contributing about 0.06 percentage points to XEQT's decline. Energy was the clearest drag, falling 0.68%, while consumer staples posted the steepest sectoral loss at 1.20%. Canadian financials, the sleeve's largest component, managed a 0.24% gain that partially offset those losses and kept the overall sleeve move contained.

    Canada market region icon

  • United States

    45.28% of XEQT

    • XTOT.TO
    • ITOT
    +0.01% +0.00 pts to XEQT

    The U.S. sleeve closed the week nearly unchanged at plus 0.01%, as technology's 0.82% advance offset declines across communication services, consumer staples, and health care. The 10-year Treasury yield rose past 4.99%, weighing on rate-sensitive sectors, but technology's weight in the sleeve was large enough to keep the aggregate return flat. Oil's retreat of nearly 1.8% pressured U.S. energy stocks without materially shifting the sleeve's outcome.

    United States market region icon

  • Intl Developed

    24.36% of XEQT

    • XEF.TO
    -0.83% -0.20 pts from XEQT

    XEF fell 0.83%, supplying most of XEQT's loss. Japan declined 0.93% among the markets tracked, with the yen falling after the Bank of Japan's rate increase rather than appreciating, a counterintuitive reaction that eroded returns for Canadian-dollar holders. The UK dropped 1.42% and France fell 1.58% among the areas tracked, with French sovereign spreads over German Bunds crossing 100 basis points ahead of a contentious budget debate. Germany and Australia also posted losses. The Netherlands was the only notable exception among tracked markets, rising 0.42%.

    Intl Developed market region icon

  • Emerging Mrkts

    4.82% of XEQT

    • XEC.TO
    +0.20% +0.01 pts to XEQT

    XEC gained 0.20%, the only sleeve to finish clearly in positive territory. Taiwan-listed equities rose 0.90% and China-linked holdings advanced 0.76% among the markets tracked, together providing enough lift to offset declines in South Korea, Brazil, and Mexico. South Korea fell 0.59% despite Seoul opening higher on easing oil prices, suggesting intraday momentum faded by the close.

    Emerging Markets market region icon

Colored bars represent biggest contributors to XEQT's move today (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

The session's story is one of divergence rather than broad pressure. A single sleeve, international developed markets, absorbed most of XEQT's decline while U.S. technology held the fund's largest sleeve nearly flat and emerging markets finished in positive territory. For a long-term holder, the fund's geographic spread did precisely what it is built to do: limit the blast radius when one region faces an outsized shock. The yen's slide and widening French sovereign spreads were real events, but their combined effect on XEQT amounted to just 22 cents per unit.

Signals

  • 01

    Bank of Japan rate hike weakens yen

    The Bank of Japan lifted its benchmark rate to its highest level in 31 years, and the yen weakened rather than strengthened in response. For XEQT holders, that currency move amplified the international developed sleeve's decline because Japanese equity returns translated into fewer Canadian dollars.

  • 02

    Oil retreats as yields stay elevated

    WTI crude oil fell 1.81% to $95.47, retreating further from the $100 level that had stoked inflation concern earlier in the month. The decline weighed on Canadian energy stocks and U.S. energy within the tracked sectors, but did not generate broader relief for rate-sensitive areas where the 10-year Treasury yield, a gauge of long-term U.S. borrowing costs, rose to nearly 5%.

  • 03

    French sovereign spread widens sharply

    France's OAT-Bund spread, the gap in borrowing costs between French and German government bonds that reflects France-specific fiscal risk, exceeded 100 basis points ahead of a contentious budget debate. France fell 1.58% among the markets tracked and was the steepest single-country drag within the Intl Developed sleeve, underscoring how sovereign fiscal stress can carve out a distinct return path within an otherwise broad regional move.

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Key events from the last 20 days

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Aug 21 to Sep 18 · $45.58 → $45.41

-0.37%