TORONTO – Strength in the basic materials sector helped Canada’s main stock index finish higher, while U.S. stock markets rose.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 68.75 points at 26,972.32.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 217.54 points at 44,458.30. The S&P 500 index was up 37.74 points at 6,263.26, while the Nasdaq composite was up 192.88 points at 20,611.34. A rally in big tech stocks led the broader market to a higher close Wednesday, lifting the Nasdaq to an all-time high and helping Wall Street claw back most of its losses from earlier in the week.
“With the tariff deadlines being extended to Aug. 1, the markets certainly have responded positively to that. They’re still near record highs,” Anish Chopra, managing director with Portfolio Management Corp., said in an interview.
The tech rally came as Wall Street continued to weigh the latest developments in U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed push this week to use threats of higher tariffs on goods imported into the U.S. in hopes of securing new trade agreements with countries around the globe.
Wednesday was initially set as a deadline by Trump for countries to make deals with the U.S. or face heavy increases in tariffs. But with just two trade deals announced since April, one with the United Kingdom and one with Vietnam, the window for negotiations has been extended to Aug. 1.
Trump said Tuesday that he was planning to impose 50 per cent tariffs on copper imports, though any details on possible exemptions or timing have yet to be announced. Copper prices eased Wednesday after spiking a day earlier.
“It’ll take some time for the market to sort this out. So if those copper tariffs get imposed, you’ll just have U.S. companies using U.S. copper and then the other countries, including Canada, being at a disadvantage,” Chopra said.
Pharmaceutical giant Merck is buying Verona Pharma, a U.K. company that focuses on respiratory diseases, in an approximately $10 billion deal. Verona shares jumped 20.6 per cent on the news, while Merck shares rose 2.9 per cent.
“On the other front, you had mergers and acquisitions news, which is always helpful. Merck announces the acquisition of Verona Pharma. Another positive indicator,” Chopra said.
Regarding earnings season, he said companies are expected to talk about what they anticipate for the third quarter.
“We’ll get a view into what’s happening at the individual company level with respect to tariffs, and then from that, investors will be able to make assessments of what’s happening at the country level, in terms of GDP growing or slowing and then the impact on global growth,” Chopra said.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.03 cents US compared with 73.12 cents US on Tuesday.
The August crude oil contract was up five cents US at US$68.38 per barrel.
The August gold contract was up US$4.10 at US$3,321.00 an ounce.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2025.
-With files from The Associated Press.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
