TORONTO – North American stock markets closed out a volatile trading day with broad losses as the U.S. imposed sweeping tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, triggering a continental trade war.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 429.57 points at 24,572, after U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order implementing the tariffs took effect just after midnight.
Markets had somewhat of a bounceback in the afternoon, led by tech. The Nasdaq rose into the green before falling back into the red by the end of the day, but its losses were shallower than the rout in the morning.
Experts said this kind of volatility is here to stay amid continued uncertainty over what’s to come from the Trump administration and how the tariffs will affect economies.
“We’re going to see massive swings continuously throughout the year, throughout President Trump’s term,” said Ian Chong, portfolio manager for First Avenue Investment Counsel Inc.
“Nothing has been resolved, and he’s just getting started.”
Trump enacted 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods, with a 10 per cent levy on energy. The move came after a one-month pause on the tariffs, as Trump dashed hopes Monday that Canada might be able to negotiate its way out of a trade war. Trump has said more tariffs are on the way.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 670.25 points at 42,520.99. The S&P 500 index was down 71.57 points at 5,778.15, while the Nasdaq composite was down 65.03 points at 18,285.16.
Investors hate tariffs, said Colin Cieszynski, portfolio manager and chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management, because they ”(pour) sand into the gears of the global economy.”
With Canada announcing its retaliatory tariffs as expected, “This is just getting started,” he agreed. “It’s still closer to the beginning than it is to the end.”
The tech sector helped the Nasdaq outperform its peers Tuesday. Semiconductor giant Nvidia, which has an outsized effect on the market, rose 1.7 per cent.
The sector has seen a bit of a pullback recently amid fears that the gains from artificial intelligence technology won’t live up to expectations, said Chong.
Investors appeared to see a “value opportunity” in the sector Tuesday, he said — but clearly, the dramatic bounce off the lows in the afternoon spooked some.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada “will not back down” as he announced Canada’s retaliation. The plan includes 25 per cent tariffs on a swath of American products including food, alcohol, clothing, cosmetics, furniture, lumber and more.
The market rout could play out over the next few days, said Cieszynski, “and then at some point, things stabilize and people look around to see what the lay of the land is.”
“But the question then is, what’s the outlook going forward? How much upheaval could this have for the economy and for companies?”
At least in the short term, Cieszynski said investors clearly expect the trade war to have a significant slowing effect on not just the North American economy, but the global economy.
Chong said investors shouldn’t make any rash decisions among all the uncertainty. Depending on risk tolerance and time horizon, gold as well as more defensive stocks could be a good way to hedge against some of the potential tribulations to come, he said.
The Canadian dollar traded for 69.02 cents US compared with 69.31 cents US on Monday.
The April crude oil contract was down 11 cents US at US$68.26 per barrel and the April natural gas contract was up 22 cents at US$4.35 per mmBTU.
The April gold contract was up US$19.50 at US$2,920.60 an ounce and the May copper contract was down five cents at US$4.56 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
