Author: TSX Stocks

Overnight, United States markets extended gains, supported by optimism surrounding trade negotiations, strong corporate earnings, declining bond yields, and easing volatility.

However, the Australian market is poised to open little changed, with limited upside expected from heavyweight financial and materials sectors.

ASX 200 futures were up 2 points (+0.02%) at 8:30 am AEST.

The ASX200 Index rose 149 points, or 1.91%, last week to close at 7,968 points. With three trading sessions remaining in April, the index is up 1.59% for the month, positioned to break a two-month losing streak — a strong recovery following an 8.5% decline earlier in April.

Sentiment improved amid signs of easing United States–China trade tensions and confirmation from President Donald Trump that he does not intend to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. A shift out of high-beta stocks into low-volatility indices such as the ASX200 further supported the gains.

Financials led the sectors with a 2.77% rise, followed by Information Technology (2.09%), Health Care (2.07%), and Real Estate (1.91%). Consumer Staples (0.33%), Telecommunications (0.53%), Utilities (1.15%), and Industrials (1.24%) lagged.

Top-performing stocks included Paladin Energy (+22.20%), Clarity Pharmaceuticals (+20.53%), Deep Yellow (+12.64%), and Appen (+11.25%). The weakest performers were Cettire (-31.43%), Generation Development (-16.40%), and Helios Energy (-12.50%).

Locally, focus this week will be on Wednesday’s March quarter Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. Economists expect a 0.7% quarterly rise, lowering the annual rate to 2.3%. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s preferred measure, the Trimmed Mean, is forecast to rise by 0.6% quarter-on-quarter, with annual inflation easing to 2.8%.

US equities extend gains on tariff optimism and Fed support

In the United States, equity markets posted a fourth consecutive session of gains on Friday, buoyed by signs of progress in trade negotiations and a more dovish Federal Reserve stance. For the week, the Nasdaq rose 6.43%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 2.5% (up 971 points), and the S&P 500 gained 4.59%. Despite the rally, the S&P 500 remains 10% below February highs.

President Trump indicated a willingness to lower tariffs on China from 145% to between 50% and 65%, initiating discussions that China tentatively welcomed by reducing some levies, including a 125% tariff on United States semiconductors. The White House also reported progress on trade frameworks with Japan, Korea, and India.

On the economic front, the final University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment reading for April fell to 52.2, marking a fourth consecutive monthly decline amid tariff concerns. Meanwhile, comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller suggested the central bank could lower interest rates should the labour market weaken materially.

Looking ahead, investor focus will shift to earnings reports from Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Meta, alongside key economic releases including the Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index and the April Non-Farm Payrolls report. Markets are currently pricing in 85 basis points of rate cuts by the end of 2025, with the first cut expected as early as July.

European sharemarkets climb to three-week high amid trade optimism

European sharemarkets closed at a three-week high on Friday, recording a second consecutive weekly gain as signs of potential de-escalation in the United States-China trade dispute lifted investor sentiment.

Defence and construction and materials stocks led the gains across sub-sectors, each rising 1.8%. The continent-wide FTSEurofirst 300 index added 0.4% on Friday and advanced 2.8% over the week. In London, the FTSE 100 index edged 0.1% higher, marking its tenth straight session of gains—the longest positive run since 2019—finishing the week 1.7% stronger.

Currencies, commodities and metals

Currencies

Currencies delivered a mixed performance against the US dollar. 

• The Euro strengthened from US$1.1320 to US$1.1386 before settling near US$1.1365 at the close of US trade.
• The Australian dollar eased from A$0.6412 to A$0.6373, hovering around A$0.6395 at the US close. 
• The Japanese yen depreciated from JPY143.24 to JPY144.02 per US dollar, later trading near JPY143.65.

Commodities

Global oil prices rose modestly on Friday but finished the week lower amid concerns over potential oversupply and uncertainty surrounding tariff discussions. 

• Brent crude climbed US32 cents or 0.5% to US$66.87 a barrel.
• US Nymex crude gained US23 cents or 0.4% to US$63.02 a barrel. 
• Across the week, Brent fell 1.6% and US Nymex declined 2.6%.

Metals

Base metal prices retreated as the US dollar strengthened.

• Copper futures slipped 0.3% and aluminium futures declined 1.6% on Friday. However, both metals posted weekly gains, with copper up 2.2% and aluminium 1.9% higher.
• Gold futures fell sharply, shedding US$50.20 or 1.5% to US$3,298.40 an ounce on Friday, pressured by a stronger US dollar and easing trade tensions following reports that Beijing had exempted certain US goods from tariffs. Spot gold was trading near US$3,318 at the US close, down 0.9% over the week.
• Iron ore futures edged US6 cents or 0.1% lower to US$99.92 a tonne on Friday, weighed by persistent uncertainty over US-China relations. Nevertheless, iron ore recorded weekly gains, supported by strengthening near-term demand from China, although the steel-making ingredient slipped 0.1% for the week.

What about small caps?

The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) finished Friday 1.04% higher and was 1.53% up for the week.

We’ll see a lot of quarterlies this week, but in other news you can read about the following and more throughout the day.

1. Lindian Resources Ltd has executed a binding Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) to acquire the remaining 25% interest in Bauxite Holding Ltd, formerly Sarmin Bauxite Limited, from its minority partners in the Lelouma Bauxite Project in the Republic of Guinea. Completion of the SPA will deliver Lindian 100% ownership of the tier-one Lelouma Bauxite Project, considered globally significant.
2. Alkane Resources Ltd and Mandalay Resources Corporation have agreed to combine in a merger of equals, executing a definitive arrangement agreement under which Alkane will acquire all issued and outstanding common shares of Mandalay through a court-approved plan of arrangement. The merged entity will continue under the name Alkane Resources, remain listed on the ASX, and pursue a secondary listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).
3. Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), supported by funding from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. The agreement advances Recce’s development of a new class of synthetic anti-infectives targeting infectious disease threats.

GUELPH, ON ( April 21, 2025) — Guelph, Ontario -Hammond Power Solutions (HPS), a leader in dry-type transformers and power quality solutions, is excited to announce a strategic partnership with McAuliffe Sales, a leading manufacturer representative agency. McAuliffe Sales will represent HPS in Indiana, and Kentucky, expanding HPS’s market reach and enhancing customer support in these geographies.

With over 50 years of industry experience, McAuliffe Sales is dedicated to bringing power, safety, and efficiency to industrial and commercial projects. The agency prides itself on providing top-tier sales, marketing, and customer support services. McAuliffe’s knowledgeable specification sales team offers technical expertise and consultative support to ensure products adhere to industry standards, regulatory requirements, and project-specific needs.

“McAuliffe Sales has a strong and versatile sales team,” said David Kinsella, Chief Commercial Officer. “Their ability to reach different markets and provide consistent support makes them a great partner for HPS. Our customers will benefit from McAuliffe’s local expertise, and exceptional and consistent customer service.

Kinsella continued, “McAuliffe Sales brings experience in a variety of industries, including automotive, waste and water treatment, power generation, steel, and more. This partnership will enable HPS to focus on specific markets, providing tailored solutions to meet their unique needs.

ABOUT HAMMOND POWER SOLUTIONS INC.

Hammond Power Solutions Inc. (“HPS” or the “Company”) enables electrification through its broad range of dry-type transformers, power quality products and related magnetics. HPS’ standard and custom-designed products are essential and ubiquitous in electrical distribution networks through an extensive range of end-user applications. The Company has manufacturing plants in Canada, the United States (U.S.), Mexico and India and sells its products around the globe. HPS shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and trade under the symbol HPS.A.

Hammond Power Solutions – Energizing Our World

Storion CTO Torrey spoke at the 2025 Energy Storage Summit USA event, hosted in Dallas, Texas, last month by our publisher Solar Media.

Torrey’s presentation at ESS USA centered around vanadium electrolyte leasing as a way to help achieve the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) long-duration energy storage (LDES) levelised cost of storage (LCOS) goal of to US$0.05/kWh.

A report from the DOE Office of Electricity established the LCOS goal and detailed the investments and time required to achieve it in 2023.

The OE’s report did find that flow batteries could be a suitable technology for achieving the LCOS goal by the end of the decade.

Storion combines Largo’s access to Maracás Menchen Mine in Bahia, Brazil, the only vanadium mine in the western hemisphere, with Stryten’s battery storage solutions.

Largo’s strategy on entering the VRFB energy storage market was profiled along with the strategy of another primary vanadium producer, Bushveld Minerals, for an article in our quarterly journal PV Tech Power (Vol.28), back in 2021.

Both companies established energy storage subsidiaries to capitalise on the opportunity of supplying vanadium to the long-duration storage space, in addition to serving customers in other industries. By that time, Largo had already introduced its leasing model.

The company’s formation followed shortly after Stryten received a Phase 2 funding through the US DOE’s ‘MAKE IT’ prize facilities track to build a domestic vanadium electrolyte manufacturing plant last year.

The cost of vanadium

At first glance, vanadium may seem like an unlikely contender for creating more cost-effective energy storage solutions.

According to a 2024 deep dive on the costs of different LDES technologies, including flow batteries, from BloombergNEF, flow batteries had an average fully installed cost of US$444/kWh.

If you exclude China from that figure, it goes up to US$701/kWh.

A 4-hour duration lithium-ion (Li-ion) BESS, by comparison, had an average cost of US$304/kWh.

Vanadium is an expensive resource, and VRFB developers are looking at increasing costs. Primary vanadium mining accounts for only about 20% of global production, with the majority of vanadium created as a by-product of steel production in China, the largest supplier of vanadium in the world.

Meanwhile, most demand for the metal comes from its use in reinforcing steel. It is also used in other applications, including strengthening aircraft hulls, chemical production, and various other industries.

In China, vanadium is still used for the country’s projects as well as in its construction industry, and an escalating trade war with the US will make importing the resource even more expensive.

Torrey says of reducing VRFB costs:

“Our first approach has been to create a domestic supply chain. That lets us be local in a way that many companies aren’t.”

“One of the challenges in energy storage is actually getting batteries to various sites. By building a supply chain here in the US, we’re cutting a lot of the logistics costs involved in getting batteries up and running.”

Torrey elaborates that the two companies coming together to form Storion are well-positioned to move batteries and improve battery chemistry from the lab to production.

Rather than position itself as a direct competitor against all Li-ion technologies, the company focuses on LDES applications.

“I wouldn’t want a cell phone with a vanadium battery—it just wouldn’t work. Same goes for lead-acid batteries—they’ve been starting our cars for a hundred years and still do a great job. Each battery tech has its place.”

Torrey continues, “vanadium redox flow batteries make the most sense in newer application spaces, like long-duration energy storage at utility-scale — something like six hours or more. That’s where they become cost-competitive. They wouldn’t make sense in a home system, for example, because they wouldn’t be cost-effective there.”

Another factor in Storion’s cost-effectiveness is its vanadium leasing model. ‘Largo Physical Vanadium’ (LPV) is a model where investors can invest in vanadium assets, stored in a VRFB, in the form of leased vanadium electrolyte.

LPV trades vanadium as VAND on the Toronto stock exchange and has a current share price of approximately CAD$0.63 (US$0.45).

Tariffs and Manufacturing

As previously mentioned, China is the largest supplier of vanadium in the world.

Now, there is a 145% tariff on imports from China. Reuters recently reported that this number could come down to between 50% and 65%, but this is still a huge cost for developers to consider.

When using a resource like vanadium, supply chains become increasingly critical, and cost can quickly rise.

Storion, with access to Largo’s vanadium mine in Brazil, is uniquely positioned for access to vanadium in a way that other VRFB developers in the US are not.

Torrey says of the situation, “Honestly, even without the tariffs, our strategy was always to build a domestic supply chain. That’s been our approach from the start.”

“What’s important to us is creating a stable business that can operate in a variety of environments. That way we can consistently deliver to our customers.”

He continues, “We don’t really control tariffs outside of how we vote, right? So our job is to build a competitive product. Internally, we’re always working to strengthen our supply chain. Fortunately, almost all of our components are currently made in the US, so we feel confident about our position.”

A US supply chain for Storion’s components may prove to be critical in the coming years.

In addition to tariffs, the Trump-Vance administration has focused on increasing oil and fossil fuel production while attempting to do away with Biden-era clean energy policies.

LDES is an important technology for meeting our energy demands, especially with a growing number of data centres, and a likelihood of more electricity-consuming resources being brought online across the country.

Torrey notes of the DOE’s increased focus on fossil fuels, “We actually see an opportunity to collaborate with oil and gas companies. They have distributed, often remote, assets—like pump sites—that consume a lot of power. They also operate large energy consumers like refineries.”

“Oil and gas companies could benefit from utility-scale infrastructure and long-duration energy storage to optimise operations.”

He continues, “..it doesn’t have to be an either/or situation. Producing oil efficiently doesn’t solve the grid problem, which is a separate challenge entirely. The grid is facing rapid shifts and growing energy usage. There’s enough work to go around. It’s a big change for all of us, but also a big opportunity.”

Publicly traded companies could have been forced to disclose how climate change would disrupt their business plans, but those efforts were recently brought to a halt by Canadian financial regulators.

This means that, for the foreseeable future, investors and the public will be armed with less information when determining whether these companies have a real plan to deal with the climate crisis — or are relying on environmentally disastrous business-as-usual scenarios.

The move is a win for some of Canada’s largest oil and gas companies that are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and have spent years fighting some of the transparency proposals financial regulators have put forward.

But critics say the regulators are walking away from their responsibility to contribute to financial system stability. Both Canada’s central bank and its superintendent of financial institutions have warned that climate change will disrupt the Canadian economy in several ways.

One way is through the physical destruction wrought by climate-driven extreme weather: at almost $8 billion in insured damage, 2024 was “by far the worst year” in Canadian history, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada. Another is the risk of a “fire sale” of assets if new technologies like, say, battery storage or consumer preferences for heat pumps lead to fossil fuels being rapidly tossed aside.

Climate risks also come in the form of legal liability. There has been US$28 trillion in climate damages caused by 111 companies globally, a recent study showed, more than half of which can be attributed to just 10 fossil fuel providers — two of which have large Canadian subsidiaries. Oil companies increasingly find themselves in court fending off accusations they misled the public about climate change.

While Canadian banks and financial institutions are now subject to a climate transparency rule, publicly traded companies have so far avoided the same obligations.

The Canadian Securities Administrators, the group representing provincial financial regulators, said April 23 it was “pausing its work on the development of a new mandatory climate-related disclosure rule.” It said it would also stop work on another requirement related to diversity.

“This is being done to support Canadian markets and issuers as they adapt to the recent developments in the U.S. and globally,” the group said in a statement.

The decision comes on the heels of a vote by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission, operating under an acting chair appointed by the Donald Trump administration, to end its defence in court of its own climate transparency rule.

The Canadian regulators’ decision to halt work on a similar rule came after a shift in “recent months” of the “global economic and geopolitical landscape,” Alberta Securities Commission chair Stan Magidson said in the group’s statement.

The provincial regulators first consulted on climate transparency standards in 2021, but never made the policy mandatory for companies wishing to participate in stock markets.

Instead, they decided to wait until a voluntary Canadian version was developed, which took until December 2024. By then, Trump had been elected president for a second time, and regulators said they would be “carefully considering developments in the United States.”

Decision comes less than a week before Canada’s federal election

The decision came six days before Canada’s federal election on April 28.

The frontrunner in the polls, Liberal Leader Mark Carney, is known for his prior work as head of the central banks of Canada and England. He helped set up an organization that led to voluntary global climate financial disclosure rules.

In 2023, before he became Liberal leader, Carney gave a speech at a summit in Montreal where he accused both corporations and governments of failing to recognize the importance of transparency around climate risks.

The Liberals’ election platform commits to establishing “broad coverage of climate risk disclosure for companies across Canada,” and says a Liberal government would “prioritize working with provincial, territorial and international partners” on climate financial transparency.

The platform does not specify if this would target publicly traded companies or private ones. Businesses can choose to incorporate federally or provincially in Canada; the government is already planning rules to require climate transparency for federally incorporated large private companies. The Liberal Party did not respond to a request for comment.

Carney’s main opponent, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, has not explicitly committed to mandating climate-related disclosures for corporations, but his party’s election platform does propose financial disclosure requirements for politicians.

Liberal, Conservative and other MPs have collectively disclosed tens of thousands of dollars in oil and gas investments under current rules. The Conservatives did not respond to a request for comment.

The NDP says it will “stop big banks and industries from greenwashing their fossil fuel investments” while the Green Party says it would “mandate Canadian banks and pension funds to phase out fossil fuel investments.” Neither party responded to requests for comment.

Regulators leave the door open to climate rules in ‘future years’

On Wednesday, the regulators left the door open restarting climate and diversity efforts “in future years.”

They also noted Canadian companies now have the option of using the voluntary made-in-Canada standards — and argued public companies already have to reveal some climate-related material risks as part of regular financial reporting.

Julien Beaulieu, a law lecturer at the Université de Sherbrooke and researcher at the Quebec Environmental Law Centre, said without a mandatory rule, information about the markets will be less useful because there will only be a patchwork of companies that volunteer climate disclosures.

Research suggests the majority of Canadian firms are not measuring their climate risks in dollar figures. In 2020, eight pension plan investment managers, representing $1.6 trillion in assets under management, called on companies to place “sustainability at the centre of their planning, operations and reporting” and use climate disclosure standards. Europe introduced climate transparency rules in 2023 that some analysts consider to be more ambitious than the Canadian version.

“This is sad news,” Beaulieu said of the regulators’ decision to pause its climate work.

“Overall, it’s a waste of so much time and resources. They consulted for so long, and so many people invested time and effort into this process, just to see it abandoned like that.”