TSX rises; investors await progress on trade talks

By Twesha Dikshit and Sukriti Gupta

Canada’s main stock index edged higher on Thursday as investors assessed latest U.S. tariff threats and awaited signs of progress on trade talks.

The commodity-heavy S&P/TSX index rose 0.1% at 27,010.05 points.

“The economy is a little bit stronger than many have thought, but I think with all these uncertainties and headwinds of tariffs, etc. it’s weakening,” said Steve Palmer, president and chief investment officer at AlphaNorth Asset Management.

“The markets are at all-time highs and that doesn’t really make much sense to me given the macro factors.”

Consumer discretionary stocks rose 0.6%, helped by a 1.6% rise in autoparts manufacturer Magna International’s shares.

Industrial stocks gained 0.7% as Air Canada rose 4.4%.

Conversely, technology stocks fell 0.6%. Electronics firm Celestica was down 4.4%, while software company Lightspeed Commerce declined 2.8%.

Energy shares lost 0.7%, tracking a fall in oil prices. Baytex Energy was down 1.5%.

Mining shares were down 0.3%, with G Mining and Lundin Gold down more than 2% each.

Canada is finishing up a free trade agreement with Southeast Asian nations in an attempt to expand into new markets.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a new 50% tariff on copper starting August 1 and threatened to slap 50% levies on exports from Brazil. He also issued new tariff letters to seven minor trading partners.

Canada, which aims to reach a trade deal with Washington by July 21, could impose counter-duties on the U.S. if no agreement is reached.

Among individual stocks, uranium producer Energy Fuels jumped 13.3% to the top of the benchmark index.

In company news, Canada Goose’s private equity backer, Bain Capital, is considering a sale of its stake in the luxury brand, Bloomberg News reported.

Investors will also closely assess Friday’s Canadian jobs data to gauge how the economy is holding up under tariff-related pressures.

(Reporting by Twesha Dikshit and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Shreya Biswas)

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