TSX Plunges As Trade Tension Hurts Sentiment

(MENAFN- Baystreet)
Canada's main stock index fell sharply on Thursday as uncertainties about a trade war dented investor sentiment, even after U.S. President Donald Trump gave automakers a one-month exemption from his 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports.
The TSX Composite Index remained lower, falling 188.9 points to reach noon hour EST Thursday at 24,681.92
The Canadian dollar edged ahead 0.03 cents to 70.04 cents U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday exempted automakers from his stringent tariffs on Canada and Mexico for one month, as long as the companies complied with the terms of an existing free-trade agreement.
However, Trump made it clear that he was not calling off his 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports, pressing the two countries to deter fentanyl smuggling.
In corporate news, oil and gas company Canadian Natural Resources posted a fall in fourth-quarter profit as weaker commodity prices overshadowed a rise in production. Natural Resources shares took on 37 cents to $39.78.
Elsewhere, shares of Aecon Group lost $2.91, or 13.1%, to $19.36, after the construction company missed fourth-quarter revenue expectations.
On the economic beat, Canada's merchandise exports increased 5.5% while imports were up 2.3%. Canada's merchandise trade surplus with the world widened from a revised $1.7 billion in December to $4.0 billion in January. This was the largest surplus since May 2022, according to Statistics Canada.
Also, the IVEY PMI for February sprang to 55.3 from 47.1 in January and from 53.9 in February 2024.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 1.94 points, to 605.81
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the minus region, weighed most by information technology's 2.1% decline, while health-care dropped 1.9%, and real-estate lost 1.4%.
The lone gainer was in consumer staples, up 1.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks resumed their pullback on Thursday as investors awaited more information on the state of President Donald Trump's tariff measures and what they could mean for the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrials collapsed 506.55 points, or 1.2%, to 42,525.65
The S&P 500 index settled 98.25 points to 5,744.29
The NASDAQ Composite backpedaled 412.39 points, or 2.2%, to 18,140.35
The major averages have each lost more than 2% this week as U.S. tariffs on Canadian, Mexican and Chinese imports took effect. Canada and China responded with retaliatory levies of its own, while Mexico said it would unveil measures over the weekend.
Stocks resumed tumbling on Thursday after getting a boost in the prior session. The White House said Wednesday that it would grant a one-month delay for tariffs on automakers whose cars comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
A continued unwind of the popular artificial intelligence trade that has boosted the market for more than a year also hurt stocks on Thursday.
Notably, chipmaker Marvell Technology dropped more than 18% after the company issued mixed first-quarter guidance.
Other semiconductor builders such as ON Semiconductor, Taiwan Semiconductor and Nvidia also slid.
On top of that, a string of recent economic reports raised alarm that Trump's policies could hinder the U.S. economy. Those came ahead of Friday's closely watched jobs report.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Thursday that one-month exemptions for more than just carmakers would be likely. Lutnick also said that Mexico and Canada could only face reciprocal tariffs planned by Trump in April if the countries make enough progress on stopping the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. Stocks came off lows in Thursday's session following Lutnick's comments.
These developments fueled traders' hopes that Trump could provide further exemptions, in turn mitigating economic damage from the levies. But some on Wall Street questioned the effectiveness of this type of short-term exception.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury edged lower, lifting yields to 4.30% from Wednesday's 4.28%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 35 cents to $65.96 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold declined 10 cents an ounce to $2,925.90 U.S.

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