Author: Reuters

Canada’s main stock index struggled for direction on Thursday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of tariffs on auto imports intensified the global trade war.

Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 0.04% at 25,151.30.

In a late-night announcement on Wednesday, Trump unveiled his plan to implement 25% tariffs on imported cars and light trucks effective on April 3, the day after he plans to announce reciprocal tariffs aimed at the countries he blames for the bulk of the U.S. trade deficit.

Earlier this week, investor sentiment had slightly improved after Trump indicated that not all of his threatened reciprocal levies would be imposed on April 2 and that some countries may get breaks.

“The short term trading today is completely tied to the announcements and expectations of the tariffs,” said Colin White, president and chief executive officer at Verecan Capital Management.

“But additional announcements from either the U.S. administration or any other administration are going to be very closely scrutinized.”

On TSX, information technology fell for the second straight session, down 1%, the most among all sectors.

TSX rises as potential US tariff exemptions keep spirits high

Blockchain farm operator Bitfarms dropped about 1%, after it reported its fourth-quarter results and bitcoin fell 1.1%.

Consumer discretionery fell 0.6%; Magna International declined the most, down 7%.

Keeping losses in check, materials gained 1.5%, tracking higher gold prices that scaled a record peak, as investors fled to safe-haven assets after Trump’s new tariff announcement.

“Precious metals and energy … have been very positive for maintaining the overall market value of the Canadian market”, White said. Domestic investors are awaiting Canada’s January GDP figures and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) data, that are set to be released on Friday.

Canada’s main stock index rose on Tuesday, building on the previous day’s gains as optimism about narrower-than-feared tariffs kept investor hopes high.

Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.41% at 25,408.87 — near the three-week high reached in the previous session.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday suggested that not all proposed levies would be enforced by April 2, with some countries potentially receiving exemptions.

“Yesterday everything went higher up based on what the market perceived as positive news out of the White House on tariffs,” said Allan Small, senior investment advisor at Allan Small Financial Group with iA Private Wealth.

“I think today is just a little bit carried forward from the previous session”.

On TSX, the materials and energy led the sectoral gains, rising 1.4% and 0.6%, respectively.

Gold prices rose on demand for safe-haven amid uncertainty over Trump’s tariff plans for next week that could potentially boost inflation.

Copper prices also gained as traders kept up speculative buying based on expected tariffs.

Meanwhile, oil prices rose for the fifth consecutive day on expectations that global supply may tighten after the U.S. announced tariffs on countries buying Venezuelan crude.

South of the border, a conference board report showed that an index tracking consumer confidence dropped to 92.9 in March, at a time when worries persist that a global trade war could fan inflation and slow the economy. Economists were expecting a reading of 94.