Canadian Stocks Climb As U.S.-Canada Talks Continue

(RTTNews) - Canada's stock market scaled a new high on Friday as traders expressed optimism in the continuing high-level U.S.-Canada trade negotiations even as August 1 deadline is closing in.

After opening just around Thursday's close, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index traveled in the positive territory to reach an intra-day high of 27,516.03 before settling at 27,494.35, up by 122.09 or 0.45 percent. This is a new record high for the TSX Composite Index.

As the deadline for "reciprocal tariffs" suspension period ends by next Friday, countries are on hectic parleys with the U.S. to secure a tariff framework. EU, India, and South Korea are reportedly making progress in clinching a fair deal with the U.S. on tariffs.

Weeks before, U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened Canada with 35 percent tariffs, after accusing the country of not doing enough to curtail illicit fentanyl trade via US-Canadian borders into the U.S. This comes on top of the 50 percent taxes on aluminum and steel imports to the U.S.

In response, PM Mark Carney assured the working class and business houses of doing everything to build a strong economy while his ministers continued talks with the U.S. counterparts. Nevertheless, Carney stated that Canada would not sign a bad agreement just for the sake of getting a deal done.

It is a high stakes battle for both the nations as the US imported about $447 billion worth of goods and services from Canada in 2024 and exported $441 billion to Canada. Canada's minister for US-trade Dominic LeBlanc stated that he was "encouraged" after meeting U.S. Commerce Secretary post closed-door "complex" talks.

However, Trump stated yesterday that "we have really not had a lot of luck with Canada" and added that the country will have only tariff and not a negotiation. Slightly alarmed by this news, some traders opted for profit-taking on the last trading day of the week.

A crucial trading week begins on Monday with August 1 deadline.

By and large, most Canadian products are currently exempt from the U.S. tariffs if they are shipped under the rules of the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement, a pact which Trump himself signed during his first term.

Investors are anticipating eagerly for the key events next week including monetary policy decisions from Bank of Canada as well as the U.S. Federal Reserve along with earnings report from "tech giants."

Economists have shrugged off any chances of lowering interest rates by BoC as recent economic data - both from Canada and the U.S. - have not shown dramatic decline in businesses and jobs amid tariff war.

Major sectors that gained in today's trading were IT (1.83 percent), Industrials (0.70 percent), Real Estate (0.69 percent), and Financials (0.54 percent).

Among the individual stocks, Lightspread Commerce Inc (4.75 percent), Celestica Inc (4.24 percent), Tfi International (5.48 percent), and Firstservice Corp (3.63 percent) were the prominent gainers.

Major sectors that lost in today's trading were Consumer Discretionary (0.07 percent), Consumer Staples (0.07 percent), Energy (0.51 percent), and Healthcare (0.63 percent). Among the individual stocks, Maple Leaf Foods (1.21 percent), Ces Energy Solutions Corp (2.66 percent), Chartwell Retirement Residences (1.30 percent), and Sienna Senior Living Inc (0.82 percent) were the notable losers.