Canadian Stocks Close Higher For Third Straight Day

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Friday, extending the strong upward move seen over the two previous sessions.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index showed a lack of direction early in the session but climbed firmly into positive territory as the day progressed. The index climbed 222.53 points or 0.7 percent to a new record closing high of 33,817.51.

The strength that emerged on Bay Street came after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down most of President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs, delivering a major blow to the president's signature economic policy.

The nation's highest court ruled in a 6-3 decision that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, does not authorize the president to impose tariffs.

However, the court's decision does not address whether the more than $130 billion in tariffs that has already been collected should be refunded, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh predicting "that process is likely to be a 'mess.'"

Trump slammed the "deeply disappointing" decision in a lengthy post on Truth Social and announced plans to sign an executive order imposing a new 10 percent "global tariff."

Materials stocks showed a significant move to the upside amid a surge by the price of gold, with the S&P/TSX Capped Materials Index jumping by 1.7 percent.

Technology stocks also turned in a strong performance on the day, while healthcare, consumer staples and energy stocks saw notable weakness.

The earlier volatility came after Statistics Canada released a report showing Canadian retail sales decreased 0.4 percent. Sales fell in three of the nine subsectors, led by decreases at motor vehicle and parts dealers.

Statistics Canada said core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors and motor vehicle and parts dealers, dipped by 0.3 in December.

A separate Statistics Canada report said its Industrial Product Price Index jumped 2.7 percent month-over-month in January and surged 5.4 percent year-over-year.