TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index saw broad declines Wednesday while U.S. markets were mixed as both the Bank of Canada and the U.S. Federal Reserve held borrowing costs steady.
The S&P/TSX composite index finished 169.92 points lower at 27,369.96.
Signs of resilience in the Canadian economy were enough for the Bank of Canada to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.75 per cent after a third consecutive hold.
Governor Tiff Macklem said Wednesday’s rate decision, which was widely expected by economists, came from a “clear consensus” among monetary policy-makers.
With a backdrop of considerable trade uncertainty, Canada’s economy has yet to deteriorate sharply in the face of U.S. tariffs and underlying inflation is showing some stubbornness.
However, Macklem said U.S. tariffs have put Canadian economic growth on a “permanently lower path.”
“The sad reality is that tariffs mean the economy’s going to work less efficiently. It means there’s going to be less income. So there’s going to be less consumption,” he said during a press conference Wednesday.
Graham Priest, portfolio manager at BlueShore Financial, said that likely leaves the door to future interest rate cuts “still open,” adding much of the impact of tariffs has “yet to flow through.”
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 171.71 points at 44,461.28. The S&P 500 index was down 7.96 points at 6,362.90, while the Nasdaq composite was up 31.38 points at 21,129.67.
U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has been insisting he wants to see more data about how tariffs are affecting inflation and the economy before the central bank makes its next move.
“Both central banks are looking to be quite data dependent,” Priest said.
On the trade front, the White House said Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing 50 per cent tariffs on copper imports starting Friday.
“That’s had a very big impact on the materials sector, and in particular copper miners. So Hudbay Minerals and Capstone Copper Corp., those are both off significantly,” Priest said.
HudBay Minerals Inc. shares finished 6.55 per cent lower on Wednesday, while Capstone Copper closed 3.71 per cent lower.
Trump has also threatened to impose a 35 per cent duty on Canadian imports starting Friday if a Canada-U.S. trade deal isn’t struck before then.
Priest said he thinks Canadians are largely exercising patience regarding trade negotiations.
“I don’t think Canadians as a whole are in too much of a rush here, but that being said, the market doesn’t like uncertainty, and we definitely do have an overhang of that,” he said.
Amid U.S.-Canada negotiations, Priest said Canada has leverage with its energy and potash exports to the U.S., which both saw lower tariff rates in the initial round.
“Today, with the tariffs on copper, that is an example. The trade deals that have been made to this point aren’t really even that firm. It’s more agreements and understanding.”
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.41 cents US compared with 72.62 cents US on Tuesday.
The September crude oil contract was up 79 cents US at US$70 per barrel.
The December gold contract was down US$28.40 at US$3,352.80 an ounce.
— With files from Craig Lord in Ottawa.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX: GSPTSE, TSX: CADUSD)
