TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index rose more than 100 points while U.S. markets were mixed after a choppy day of trading, the day before U.S. President Donald Trump is set to enact tariffs on a wide range on imports.
“The markets today really are in wait and see mode, and they seem to be moving up and down depending on what news comes out around what the tariff situation could be tomorrow,” said Anish Chopra, managing director with Portfolio Management Corp.
Tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods that were delayed for a month are set to come into place April 2. However, a White House official said Monday that no decision has been made on whether those tariffs will be reinstated.
Democrats in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday moved forward on a resolution to block the tariffs targeting Canada, accusing the president of justifying the duties using a “made-up emergency,” referring to Trump’s concerns about fentanyl crossing the Canada-U.S. border.
Trump is also set to lay out his plans for “reciprocal tariffs” Wednesday afternoon on what he calls “Liberation Day,” which would mean increasing U.S. duties to match what other countries charge on U.S. imports.
April 3 is when his recently announced auto tariffs are meant to be enacted.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 115.78 points at 25,033.28.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 11.80 points at 41,989.96. The S&P 500 index was up 21.22 points at 5,633.07, while the Nasdaq composite was up 150.60 points at 17,449.89.
Markets don’t like uncertainty, and the past month has been full of it as Trump has enacted tariffs, delayed some, and announced still others, said Chopra.
“There’s still lots of time between now and tomorrow for things to change,” he said.
Market watchers are concerned tariffs will raise prices for consumers and businesses in the U.S. just as the central bank was close to getting a lid on inflation.
“The main concern here is that the tariffs have to be paid by somebody,” said Chopra.
In Canada, the tariffs and Ottawa’s reciprocal duties are also expected to weigh on economic growth while putting upward pressure on prices.
The Canadian dollar traded for 69.70 cents US compared with 69.56 cents US on Monday.
The May crude oil contract was down 28 cents US at US$71.20 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was down 17 cents US at US$3.95 per mmBTU.
The June gold contract was down US$4.30 at US$3,146 an ounce and the May copper contract was up a penny at US$5.04 a pound.
— With files from The Associated Press and Kelly Geraldine Malone in Washington
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 1, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
