Canadian Stocks Rise, Led By Gains By Mining Stocks

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks edged higher on Wednesday, lifted by momentum in mining stocks that was triggered by an extended surge in gold prices even as the meeting between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump ended without any significant breakthrough on tariffs.

Today, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index fell quickly early in the session but then gained momentum to inch its way up through the session to finally close at 30,501.99, up by 150.27 points (or 0.50%).

Five of the 11 sectors posted gains today, with the IT sector leading the pack.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, where both leaders lavished praise on each other. However, no substantial announcements on tariffs came, disappointing investors.

Apparently, Trump has asked officials from both sides to keep negotiating with a special focus on cross-border trade in steel, aluminum, and energy and urged them to do it quickly.

The closing press conference was handled by Minister of Canada-U.S. Trade Dominic LeBlanc, who briefed the media. He merely stated that progress has been made in the White House talks this week. LeBlanc is staying behind in Washington to monitor trade talks between the two nations.

During his discussion with Trump, Carney raised the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which would run from northern Alberta to the U.S. Midwest.

As Trump himself is receptive to the idea of partnering in energy with Canada, analysts feel that the Canadian steel and aluminum industry may get some tariff relief.

Canada has been slapped with 35% tariffs on its exports to the U.S. Those duties do not apply to goods compliant with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade (or CUSMA). The CUSMA is also coming up for re-negotiation next year.

The Canadian economy is showing signs of weakness with growing unemployment. Canadian steel, aluminum, automobiles and copper industries are suffering due to Trump's tariffs. The additional levies Trump imposed on lumber are set to hit later this month.

To appease Trump, Carney took many reconciliatory steps like dropping retaliatory tariffs against the U.S., pausing Canada's Digital Services Tax, introducing border security legislation, agreeing to ramp up defense spending, and even withdrawing decades-long legal disputes with the U.S. However, Trump has apparently shown no sign of relenting on tariffs.

In the U.S., the government shutdown entered its eighth day today.

Though key economic releases will be unavailable to the markets and the U.S. Federal Reserve, triggered by the most recent weak jobs data, markets are pricing in a rate cut by the Fed this October and another in December.

With the Canadian economy also in a sluggish mode post tariff imposition, mirroring the U.S., traders are expecting another rate cut by the Canadian central bank.

Implementing a 25-basis-point cut in September, the Bank of Canada brought its key interest rate to 2.5%.

Today, the yield on Canada's two-year-bond eased to 2.45%, marking a 0.01 percentage points decrease from the previous session.

In general, Canada's benchmark index has been hitting and breaking new highs in recent sessions, fueled by the gold rally as well as tech stocks, which surged due to rising optimism about artificial intelligence. Gold prices have crossed the $4,000 mark for the first time in history.

This week's Canadian employment report is much anticipated to offer a glimpse on the country's economic health and cues on the Canadian central bank's interest rate trajectory.

Major sectors that gained in today's trading were IT (2.82%), Materials (1.64%), Industrials (0.43%), Consumer Staples (0.37%), and Utilities (0.02%).

Among the individual stocks, Bitfarms Ltd (15.05%), Celestica Inc Sv (7.15%), First Majestic Silver Corp (11.30%), K92 Mining Inc (10.88%), Capstone Mining Corp (9.92%), and Hudbay Minerals Inc (8.34%) were the prominent gainers.

Major sectors that lost in today's trading were Financials (0.49%), Real Estate (0.56%), Energy (0.73%), and Communication Services (1.48%).

Among the individual stocks, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (1.47%), Bank of Nova Scotia (1.33%), Telus Corp (2.13%), Vermillion Energy Inc (1.68%) and Imperial Oil (1.41%) were the notable losers.