TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index ended Tuesday narrowly in the red, weighed down by losses in energy and base metals stocks, while U.S. markets moved higher.
Investors digested the latest news from U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, who threatened sweeping new tariffs of 25 per cent on products from Canada and Mexico.
The “sizable” tariff promise likely shocked markets somewhat right off the bat, said Mike Archibald, vice-president and portfolio manager with AGF Investments Inc.
“But I think as people have kind of digested they’ve thought that this is probably a starting position from a bargaining standpoint,” he said.
The announcement was in line with Trump’s tactics used during his first presidency, said Archibald.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 5.21 points at 25,405.14.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 123.74 points at 44,860.31. The S&P 500 index was up 34.26 points at 6,021.63, while the Nasdaq composite was up 119.46 points at 19,174.30.
A few Canadian companies saw their share prices drop because of the outsized impact such a tariff could have on certain sectors, said Archibald.
These included Bombardier, BRP, Linamar and Magna International.
“You can see the biggest losers on the market today are generally those that manufacture in either Canada and/or Mexico,” he said.
But higher tariffs could also be inflationary for the U.S., said Archibald.
Markets have been paring back their bets for interest rate cuts in the U.S. in the wake of the election in anticipation of potentially higher inflation.
“It’s a bit too early to know,” said Archibald.
Despite the uncertainty, he said markets are still poised to do well in the coming months thanks to Trump’s overall pro-business bent.
“I still think the market is in a very good position to rally … into the end of the year,” he said.
“The S&P 500 is still going to do fairly well relative to other markets around the world.”
The loonie fell to a four-year low before clawing back some of its losses later in the day, he noted.
The Canadian dollar traded for 71.01 cents US compared with 71.53 cents US on Monday.
The January crude oil contract was down 17 cents at US$68.77 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was up three cents at US$3.47 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$2.80 at US$2,621.30 an ounce and the March copper contract was down four cents at US$4.12 a pound.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 26, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
