Trump's 90-Day Tariff Pause Sparks Rally On Bay Street

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks showed a lack of direction early in the session on Wednesday but skyrocketed in reaction to President Donald Trump's announcement of a 90-day tariff pause.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index spiked 1,220.13 points or 5.4 percent to 23,727.03, showing a substantial rebound after ending the previous session at its lowest closing level since last August.

The astonishing rally on Bay Street came after Trump's announcement on Truth Social, with the White House later clarifying tariffs would be brought down to a "universal 10 percent" on most countries, including Canada.

However, the pause will not apply to China, as Trump announced he is raising the tariff on the country to 125 percent due to the "lack of respect" they have shown to the world's markets.

The higher tariffs on China come after the country retaliated to a previous increase by announcing it will raise its tariffs on U.S. goods to 84 percent from 34 percent just after midnight on Thursday.

Technology stocks helped lead the way higher, with the S&P/TSX Capped Information Technology Index soaring by 10.8 percent.

Substantial strength also emerged among energy stocks amid a significant rebound by crude oil, driving the S&P/TSX Capped Energy Index up by 8.5 percent.

Materials, industrial and healthcare stocks also moved sharply higher over the course of the session as broad based selling pressure emerged after Trump's announcement.