Equities in Toronto scraped past breakeven by noon EDT on Tuesday, as investors priced in U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of additional tariffs on Canadian metals.
The TSX Composite Index nosed up 18.04 points, to 24,398.75
The Canadian dollar faltered 0.19 cents to 69.11 cents U.S.
Alimentation Couche-Tard remains in the news. The company said it is confident there is a "clear path" to overcome U.S. regulatory hurdles in its proposed $47 billion acquisition of Japan's Seven & i.
Couche-Tard shares reached noon down $1.55, or 2.2%, to $69.90.
New Gold and Aya Gold & Silver were among the biggest gainers on the main index. New Gold hiked 28 cents, or 6.9%, to $4.29. Aya surged $1.29, or 12.7%, to $11.42.
Trump on Tuesday doubled his planned tariff on all steel and aluminum products coming into the United States from Canada, bringing the total to 50%, in response to the Ontario province placing levies on electricity coming into the U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 5.41 points, to 600.15.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower midday, with health-care stumbling 2.2%, while telecoms and consumer discretionary stocks each settled 1.5%.
The five gainers were led by gold, gaining 3.2%, while materials took on 2.6%, and informaton technology improved 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell Tuesday after President Donald Trump placed additional tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum coming into the U.S.
The 30-stock index crumbled 323.36 points to 41,596.24
The S&P 500 index stumbled 15.51 points to 5,599.65.
The NASDAQ Composite reversed direction and gained 50.23 points to 17,520.66.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said steel and aluminum duties would go up by an additional 25%, bringing them to 50%. He added that the levies would take effect Wednesday.
This is the latest in a series of escalating trade policy moves that have stoked fears of a U.S. economic recession. The White House has place tariffs on Canadian, Mexican and Chinese imports, leading to steep losses in equities.
On Monday, the NASDAQ saw its worst day since September 2022, dropping 4%. The 30-stock Dow, which lost nearly 900 points, closed below its 200-day moving average for the first time since Nov. 1, 2023.
The pullback led Citigroup to lower its rating on U.S. stocks to neutral from overweight, pointing to a “pause in U.S. exceptionalism” as the reason. Adding to worries around the economy was the latest guidance from Delta Air Lines. The company slashed its earnings outlook due to weaker U.S. demand, pushing the stock down more than 5%.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury backed off, raising yields to 4.26% from Monday’s 4.22%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices raced higher 63 cents to $66.66 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold revived $24.60 an ounce to $2,924 U.S.
