1) Canadian, U.S. markets close higher, capping off topsy turvy week

By The Canadian Press, Updated: April 11, 2025

Courtesy CTV News: Trump’s TariffsNews

TORONTO — Canadian and U.S. stocks closed higher today, capping off a tumultuous week that saw nausea-inducing drops and spikes driven largely by tariff headlines out of the United States.

Canada’s main stock index closed up 572.93 points, or 2.5 per cent, to 23,587.80.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 619.05 points at 40,212.71. The S&P 500 index rose 95.31 points to 5,363.36, while the Nasdaq composite was up 337.14 points at 16,724.46.

The Canadian dollar traded for 71.99 cents US compared with 71.35 cents US on Thursday.

The May crude oil contract settled up US$1.43 to US$61.50 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was down three cents US at US$3.53 per mmBTU.

The June gold contract was up US$67.10 at US$3,244.60 an ounce and the May copper contract was up 19 cents US at US$4.52 a pound.

2) (Updated) Dow rallies 1,300 and S&P 500 jumps 3.7% as hopes for tariff negotiations deliver some relief

Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press

By Stan Choe, April 8, 2025

Some relief is flowing through financial markets worldwide Tuesday, and stocks are bouncing to recover a bit of their historic losses since President Donald Trump dramatically raised the stakes in his trade war last week.

The S&P 500 was up 3.7% in morning trading, though it still remains more than 14% below its record set in February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1,388 points, or 3.6%, as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 4.1% higher.

The bounce was global. Stock indexes rallied 6% in Tokyo, 3.5% in Paris and 1.6% in Shanghai. The price of crude oil also pulled higher after touching its lowest level since 2021 on Monday. Bitcoin steadied and was back above $79,000 after dropping toward $76,000 the prior day.

Even with Tuesday’s big jump, which could be the best for the S&P 500 since late 2022, analysts say more swings up and down are likely for markets not only in the days ahead but also perhaps the hours.

The big question remains centered on how long Trump will keep his stiff tariffs on other countries, which would raise prices for U.S. shoppers and slow the economy. If they last a long time, economists and investors expect it to cause a recession. But if Trump lowers them through negotiations relatively quickly, the worst-case scenario can be avoided.

Hope still remains on Wall Street that negotiations may be possible, and Trump said Monday that a conversation with South Korea’s acting president helped them reach the “confines and probability of a great DEAL for both countries.”

“Their top TEAM is on a plane heading to the U.S., and things are looking good,” Trump said on social media. “We are likewise dealing with many other countries, all of whom want to make a deal with the United States.”

Japanese stocks led global markets after the country’s prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, appointed his trade negotiator for talks with the United States. It was based on an agreement between Ishiba and Trump, Japanese officials said.

It “seems like we were very oversold and there’s hope that things may de-escalate from here,” said Sameer Samana, a senior global market strategist for Wells Fargo Investment Institute, He, though, also suggested staying cautious “as the key countries continue to escalate, rather than de-escalate.”

China said it will “fight to the end” and warned of countermeasures after Trump threatened on Monday to raise his tariffs even further on the world’s second-largest economy.

Such a bounce back for global markets as Tuesday’s perhaps shouldn’t be a surprise. Stocks don’t go in one direction forever, and some of the best days in the market’s history have been clustered around some of its worst days.

The biggest gain for the S&P 500 since World War II was an 11.6% surge on Oct. 13, 2008, for example. That was during the depths of the Great Recession, when worries were high that the financial system was collapsing and the S&P 500 was in the midst of a nearly 57% plunge from its peak in late 2007 until its bottom in March 2009. A couple weeks later, the index had another one of its best days in history, soaring 10.8%.

That’s one of the reasons many financial advisers suggest not trying to time the market and selling stocks and other investments meant for the long term when nervous, because of the risk of missing out on such huge up days.

Trump’s trade war is an attack on the globalization that’s shaped the global economy and helped bring down prices but also caused manufacturing jobs to leave for other countries. He has said he wants to bring factory jobs back to the United States, a process that could take years. Trump also says he wants to narrow trade deficits with other countries.

On Wall Street, health insurers helped lead the market after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced a stronger-than-expected increase in Medicare Advantage payments for next year. Humana jumped 11.8%, United Health climbed 8.3% and Elevance rose 4.8%.

In the bond market, Treasury yields rallied for a second straight day to recover more of their sharp losses from prior months. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.23% from 4.15% late Monday and from just 4.01% late Friday.

Yields tend to rise with expectations for the U.S. economy’s strength and for inflation. ___ AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

3) (Updated) Markets mixed after volatile trading day amid ongoing U.S. tariffs concerns

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Canadian Press Staff, April 7, 2025.

North American stock markets muddled to a mixed close Monday as the effects of U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcement continued to reverberate. 

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 334.01 points at 22,859.46.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 349.26 points at 37,965.60. The S&P 500 index was down 11.83 points at 5,062.25, while the Nasdaq composite was up 15.48 points at 15,603.26.

The Canadian dollar traded for 70.29 cents US compared with 70.34 cents US on Friday. 

The May crude oil contract was down US$1.29 at US$60.70 per barrel. The May natural gas contract was down 18 cents US at US$3.66 per mmBTU.

The June gold contract was down US$61.80 at US$2,973.60 an ounce and the May copper contract was down 21 cents US at US$4.19 a pound.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

4) (Updated) Canada and U.S. stock markets plunge for a second day after trade war launched

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Rosa Saba, March 4, 2025

North American stock markets plunged for a second day as the U.S. imposed broad tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, triggering a continental trade war.

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 547.26 points at 24,454.31, after U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order implementing the tariffs took effect at just after midnight.

“Markets are getting crushed today,” said Colin Cieszynski, portfolio manager and chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management. 

“It’s not just Canada; it’s U.S. markets are getting hammered, European markets are getting hammered, even the Asia Pacific markets were down.”

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 703.20 points at 42,488.04. The S&P 500 index was down 82.70 points at 5,767.02, while the Nasdaq composite was down 181.51 points at 18,168.69.

Trump enacted 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods, with a 10 per cent levy on energy. The move came after a one-month pause on the tariffs, as Trump dashed hopes Monday that Canada might be able to negotiate its way out of a trade war. 

Investors hate tariffs, said Cieszynski, because they “(pour) sand into the gears of the global economy.”

With Canada announcing its retaliatory tariffs as expected, “This is just getting started,” he said. “It’s still closer to the beginning than it is to the end.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada “will not back down” as he announced Canada’s retaliatory plan. The plan includes 25 per cent tariffs on a swath of American products including food, alcohol, clothing, cosmetics, furniture, lumber and more. 

The market rout could play out over the next few days, said Cieszynski, “and then at some point things stabilize and people look around to see what the lay of the land is.”

“But the question then is, what’s the outlook going forward? How much upheaval could this have for the economy and for companies?” 

At least in the short term, Cieszynski said investors clearly expect the trade war to have a significant slowing effect on not just the North American economy, but the global economy. 

The Canadian dollar traded for 68.90 cents US compared with 69.31 cents US on Monday.

The April crude oil contract was down 49 cents US at US$67.88 per barrel and the April natural gas contract was up 37 cents at US$4.49 per mmBTU.

The April gold contract was up US$24.90 at US$2,926 an ounce and the May copper contract was down seven cents at US$4.54 a pound.