TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index lost steam throughout the trading day Monday to close just a few points higher amid a rotation into defensive sectors, while U.S. markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 2.99 points at 27,317.00.
“I think you’re seeing that while the TSX is up, the way sectors and stocks are moving today is just reflecting a high level of caution,” said Kevin Burkett, portfolio manager at Victoria-based Burkett Asset Management.
Burkett added that under the surface, there is a “risk-off trade” happening on the TSX when you look at the performance across sectors. He noted that names like Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. and NovaGold Resources Inc. performed well, where more service-oriented firms like Thomson Reuters Corp. were trading lower.
Couche-Tard, whose shares finished 1.64 per cent higher, said it’s restarting its share buyback program after it announced last week that it had ended its efforts to acquire the owner of the 7-Eleven chain. Meanwhile, NovaGold Resources Inc. gained 8.96 per cent on the day, while Thomson Reuters traded 3.08 per cent lower.
The slight gains on the TSX came as a pair of reports from the Bank of Canada said tariff-related uncertainty continued to put a damper on business and consumer sentiment in the second quarter, but previously anticipated worst-case trade scenarios seem less likely.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 19.12 points at 44,323.07. The S&P 500 index was up 8.81 points at 6,305.60, squeaking past its prior all-time high set on Thursday, while the Nasdaq composite was up 78.52 points at 20,974.1, adding 0.4 per cent to its own record.
Burkett said U.S. markets have reached new highs amid a “quiet period” during the summer with ongoing trade uncertainty.
Many U.S. tariffs are on pause after President Donald Trump extended the deadline for talks with other countries in order to give more time to reach potential trade deals. The next big deadline, at least for now, is Aug. 1.
As the earnings season is unfolding, most big U.S. companies have been topping analysts’ expectations, as is usually the case. Companies will need to keep delivering solid profit growth to tamp down criticism that the U.S. stock market may be looking expensive again after prices reached records despite potential worries about tariffs and the economy.
“I think there’s a sense of dread, maybe, a growing sense of dread while we wait to see positive signs from discussions that we know are underway between Trump and some of their trading partners,” he said.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.03 cents US compared with 72.89 cents US on Friday.
The September crude oil contract was down 10 cents US at US$65.95 per barrel.
The August gold contract was up US$48.10 at US$3,406.40 an ounce.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2025.
— With files from The Associated Press.
Companies in this story: (TSX: GSPTSE, TSX: CADUSD, TSX: TRI, TSX: ATD, TSX: NG)
