Bay Street Likely To Open Higher, But Tariff Jitters, Weak Commodities May Weigh

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares may open higher Tuesday morning on bank earnings, but weak commodities and tariff jitters could limit market's upside.

U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Monday tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports remain "on time and on schedule," raising fears of a prolonged trade war.

Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) reported adjusted net income of C$2.29 billion or C$3.04 per share for the three months ended January 31, 2025, compared with C$1.89 billion, or C$2.56 per share, a year earlier.

The bank's provision for credit losses jumped to C$1.01 billion in the quarter from c$627 million a year earlier.

Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) announced that its net income dropped to C$993 million, or C$0.66 a share, for the fiscal first quarter from C$2.2 billion, or $1.68, a year earlier. The result includes an impairment loss of C$1.36 billion related to the sale of banking operations in Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama.

Provisions for credit losses rose to C$1.16 billion from C$1.03 billion the quarter before and C$962 million in the same period last year.

Stantec Inc. (STN.TO) reported adjusted net income of $126.2 million, or $1.11 per share for the fourth-quarter, compared to $91.4 million, or $0.82 per share, recorded in the previous quarter.

Innergex Renewable Energy (INE.TO) announced that it has signed a definitive agreement that will see investment group CDPQ acquire all of its issued and outstanding common shares, other than those held by CDPQ and certain members of senior management, for $13.75 per share in cash.

On the economic front, a preliminary report on Canada's manufacturing sales for the month of January, is due at 8:30 AM ET.

The Canadian market ended flat on Monday after a volatile session, as investors awaited earnings updates from major banks on Tuesday. Worries about tariffs and uncertainty about the outlook for growth weighed on sentiment.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which tumbled to 25,020.03 in early trades, losing nearly 130 points in the process, climbed to 25,255.92 around mid afternoon, but pared most of its gains and finally ended the day's session with a small gain of 4.23 points or 0.02% at 25,151.26.

Asian stocks closed lower on Tuesday as fresh U.S. trade measures against China and President Donald Trump's comments that tariffs on Canada and Mexico "will go forward" rekindled fears of a global trade war.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.3% after the Trump administration targeted China with new trade and investment restrictions, further straining relations between the two economic giants.

European stocks are broadly higher in cautious trade with investors tracking results and continuing to focus on geopolitical news and the Trump administration's policy and tariff moves.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures are down $0.45 or 0.61% at $70.25 a barrel.

Gold futures are down $21.00 or 0.71% at $2,942.20 an ounce, while Silver futures are lower by $0.363 or 1.11% at $32.240 an ounce.