Canada’s main stock index ended the week with a slight dip, while U.S. markets saw a boost as American corporate heavyweights began reporting earnings.
Analysts had set a low bar for companies’ performance this earnings season in light of the economic jitters and U.S. trade turmoil, said Stephen Duench, vice-president and portfolio manager at AGF Investments Inc.
“We haven’t seen analysts’ estimates go down by such an extent going into (the) reporting period since COVID,” he said.
So even marginally good news in earnings reports had an outsized market reaction, he said.
“‘Not as bad as before’ is a positive development,” he said.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 17.02 points at 24,710.51.
In New York, the Nasdaq composite gained 216.90 points at 17,382.94, while the Dow Jones industrial average rose 20.10 points at 40,113.50. The S&P 500 index was up 40.44 points at 5,525.21.
Next week, U.S. earnings season really kicks into high gear as many members of the “magnificent seven” — big, influential Wall Street names like Meta, Apple and Microsoft — issue their latest financials.
Duench said he’s expecting a big theme to be share buybacks.
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, announced on Thursday that it would authorize the purchase US$70 billion of its own stock. Its shares saw a 1.5 per cent boost on Friday.
Companies that are sitting on cash may be reluctant to make major capital investments in light of the geopolitical drama and U.S. President Donald Trump’s unpredictable behaviour, said Duench.
So Duench said firms are saying, “We’re going to buy back a ton of our shares because the market is sold off and we believe our shares are at good valuations.’”
He added it’s important for investors to be tactical given the uncertain environment, but it’s also wise to avoid getting too caught up in the fear that’s been gripping markets in recent weeks.
“It’s definitely contrarian to be optimistic right now,” Duench said.
“There could actually be things around the edges that are more positive than we might think. So it’s good to be a bit balanced. Don’t put all your eggs on the defensive, bearish bets.”
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.13 cents US compared with 72.09 cents US on Thursday.
The June crude oil contract was up 23 cents US at US$63.02 per barrel and the June natural gas contract was up two cents US at US$3.11 per mmBTU.
The June gold contract was down US$50.02 at US$3,298.40 an ounce and the July copper contract was down two cents US at US$4.89 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX: GSPTSE, TSX: CADUSD)
