Canada's main stock index gained ground on Monday, powered by consumer staples issues, even as investors shunned risky assets amid concerns that U.S. President Donald Trump's upcoming tariffs will hurt the global economy.
The TSX Composite Index climbed 70.5 points to break for lunch Monday at 24,829.65.
The Canadian dollar settled 0.31 cents to 69.57 cents U.S.
While Canada had secured protections against new U.S. auto tariffs, including a 60-day delay and annual duty-free quotas, under a 2018 trade agreement with the U.S. and Mexico, there's no evidence Trump will honor those commitments.
However, the Canadian government expects the U.S. to honor the agreements on Wednesday.
Information technology led declines, with Celestica falling $7.49, or 6.3%, to the bottom of the benchmark index at $110.91.
Consumer staples topped the list, with Metro rising $2.09, or 2.1%, to $99.84, after the food and pharmacy retailer said it prioritizes local products amid the "Buy Canadian" movement.
Elsewhere, CGI entered into an agreement to acquire Apside, a digital and engineering services firm in France. CGI shares advanced 80 cents to $141.33.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 9.91 points, or 1.6%, to 623.72.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the red to begin Monday, with information technology sliding 3%, health-care failing 1.5%, and materials, off 1.4%.
The five gainers were led by telecoms, up 1.3%, consumer staples, ahead 1.1%, and consumer discretionary stocks, moving higher 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell sharply on Monday, bringing the S&P 500 back into correction territory, as traders nervously looked ahead to President Donald Trump’s tariff plans.
The Dow Jones Industrials sharply reversed morning losses, popping 111.62 points to 41,695.52
The S&P 500 Index docked 22.59 points to 5,558.36.
The NASDAQ lost 224.40 points, or 1.3%, to 17,089.59
Tech giants Nvidia declined 4.3%, and Meta Platforms 2.6%, to lead markets lower. Tesla also lost 5.3%. Tech stocks have struggled to recapture their meteoric rise from last year that was spurred by rising artificial intelligence sentiment. AI darling Nvidia, for example, is now more than 31% off its 52-week high.
The broad market index is more than 10% below a record set in February. It also hit its lowest level since September on Monday. The tech-heavy NASDAQ also reached levels not seen since September and is 16% below its all-time high set in December.
A slew of tariffs previously announced by the Trump administration will go into effect on Wednesday — what Trump has called “Liberation Day” — including a 25% levy on “all cars that are not made in the United States.”
The president is also expected to announce his plan for reciprocal duties aimed at countries that impose tariffs on U.S. imports.
Trump did little to assuage fears over the weekend, with The Wall Street Journal reporting Sunday that the president had in recent days pushed his advisors to get more aggressive when it comes to tariffs. In a Saturday interview with NBC News, Trump said he couldn’t care less” if foreign automakers raise their prices due to these new tariffs.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury rocketed, hiking yields to 4.23% from Friday’s 4.26%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices restrengthened $1.80 to $71.16 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold screamed higher $34.60 to $3,148.90 U.S.
