Canada’s main stock index wavered on Thursday, before settling back to where it finished trading Wednesday. This, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of tariffs on auto imports intensified the global trade war.
The TSX Composite Index did not budge by Thursday’s close, registering at 25,161.06.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.06 cents to 69.89 cents U.S.
Trump unveiled a 25% tariff on imported vehicles on Wednesday, set to take effect on April 3, a day after he plans to announce reciprocal tariffs.
Blockchain farm operator Bitfarms dropped seven cents, or 4.9%, to $1.36, after it reported its fourth-quarter results and bitcoin fell 1.1%.
Consumer discretionary stocks fell, as Magna International declined the most, down $3.72, or 6.9%, to $50.05.
Health-care did their best to point the direction upward, as Tilray gathered seven cents, or 7.5%, to $1.01, while shares in Chartwell Retirement Residences grabbed 15 cents to $16.63.
In materials, Agnico Eagle Mines hiked $4.74, or 3.2%, to $154.32, while Calibre Mining forged ahead 11 cents, or 3.5%, to $3.28.
Communications stocks saw a gain of 79 cents, or 2.4%, for BCE to $33.13, while Cogeco shares grew $1.58, or 2.3%, to $69.20.
Techs proved a drag on the market, though, as Lightspeed Commerce dropped 78 cents, or 5.5%, to $13.40.
In energy stocks, Parex Resources lost 24 cents, or 1.7%, to $13.57, while Tamarack Valley ditched six cents, or 1.4%, to $4.40.
Industrials stocks saw losses of $5.08, or 5.9%, to $81.01, for Bombardier, while Air Canada lost altitude 53 cents, or 3.5%, to $14.59.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada’s Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours rose by 26,800 (+0.1%) in January, following an increase of 66,400 (+0.4%) in December 2024. On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment was up 198,900 (+1.1%) in January 2025.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange edged up 2.36 points to 640.42.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the green by the close, led by gold, up 2.6%, while health-care rose 2.2%, and materials jumped 1.7%.
The five laggards were weighed mostly by information technology, down 1.1%, energy stocks, off 0.7%, and consumer discretionary stocks, descending 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Thursday as investors weighed the latest tariff-related news from President Donald Trump, including his new tariffs aimed at foreign automakers.
The Dow Jones Industrials dumped 155.09 points to 42,299.70.
The S&P 500 Index ducked 18.89 points to 5,693.31
The NASDAQ let go of 94.98 points to 17,804.03
Shares of several automakers declined after Trump on Wednesday evening announced 25% tariffs on “all cars that are not made in the United States,” which will go into effect on April 2. General Motors pulled back 7%, while Ford slipped 3%.
Elon Musk’s Tesla notably gained 1.5%, however. Several Wall Street analysts see Tesla as a relative beneficiary of Trump’s auto tariffs given the company’s domestic production.
Trump has long discussed imposing duties on countries that have their own tariffs on U.S. imports and said on Wednesday that his retaliatory tariffs will be permanent for his entire second term.
Still, hints provided by the President this week about the upcoming April 2 levies has given investors some relief. He said Wednesday the tariffs would be “very lenient” and that he would be willing to reduce tariffs on China to help further a deal with ByteDance’s TikTok.
At the same time, using tariffs as a negotiating tactic, he threatened on Thursday to impose “far larger” tariffs on the European Union and Canada if they work together to combat trade tariffs.
Trump’s announcements come as investors are already anxious about how his retaliatory tariffs will affect the broader U.S. economy, which is already showing some signs of weakness. Consumer confidence, for example, reached a 12-year low in March, according to a Conference Board report, in the latest indication of broader pessimism toward the economy. The board’s measure follows a similarly weak reading of the
University of Michigan Survey of Consumers for March.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury faded early Thursday, hiking yields to 4.37% from Wednesday’s 4.35%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices took on 22 cents to $69.87 U.S. a barrel.