Stocks Start off on Right Foot

Canada's main stock index opened higher on Tuesday, boosted by gains in technology shares, while investors assessed U.S. President Donald Trump's new tariff proposals for several trading partners and a new deadline for trade deals.

The TSX Composite Index poked higher 1.66 points to begin the Tuesday session at 27,021.94.

The Canadian dollar slid 0.03 cents to 73.14 cents U.S.

Trump on Monday sent letters to 14 nations, including Japan and South Korea, threatening sharply higher tariffs on U.S. imports, while also postponing their implementation to August 1.

He added that the deadline was not 100% firm and he would consider extensions if countries made proposals. Countries have been under pressure to seal deals with the U.S. after Trump launched a global trade war in April, which rattled financial markets and prompted policymakers to protect their economies.

Canada, which recently canceled a digital service tax on U.S. technology companies to preserve trade talks with Trump, aims to reach an agreement by July 21.

Federal Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne has reportedly asked all ministries to find savings, assess spending on programs, cut down on work duplication and look to reallocate funds from other programs to priority projects.

Aura Minerals said it is preparing to list its shares on NASDAQ, in a move that could fetch the Canadian gold and copper miner a valuation of $2.14 billion. Aura shares galloped 57 cents, or 1.6%, to $36.38.

On the economic calendar, the IVEY School of Business said its index registered at 53.3 in June, down from a 48.9 reading in May, and way off the 62.5 level in June 2024.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange sagged 3.48 points to finish at 754.14.

Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive in the first hour, with telecoms ahead 1.4%, industrials, better by 0.8%, and energy, progressing 0.6%.

The five laggards were weighed most by gold, docking 1.9%, materials, lower by 1.1%, and utilities, off 0.3%.

ON WALLSTREET

Investors tried to recover from a steep Monday selloff after President Donald Trump pushed the tariff deadline once again and signaled flexibility on that timing as well with countries willing to negotiate.

The Dow Jones Industrials remained negative 79.99 points to 44,326.37.

The S&P 500 index removed 5.09 points to 6,224.89

The NASDAQ Composite stumbled 4.1 points to 20,408.41.

Nvidia shares rose 0.6% on Tuesday. The chipmaker is also closing in on reaching a $4-trillion market cap. Tesla shares also rebounded 1% after losing 6.1%.

On the other hand, big banks were the worst performing cohort following a downgrade from HSBC. Shares of JPMorgan and Bank of America shed 2%, while Goldman Sachs slipped 1%.

Trump late Monday said the new Aug. 1 tariff deadline is “not 100% firm,” adding that “If they call up and they say something a different way, we’re going to be open to that.”

His comments came after he posted letters to countries announcing new tariffs on their respective imports.

Stocks sold off Monday following Trump’s posts, with the Dow tumbling more than 400 points, after the president set 25% tariffs on goods imported from South Korea and Japan.

Overall, at least 14 countries are set to face new duties including South Africa and Kazakhstan.

However, some traders no longer forecast the latest U.S. tariffs to be as strict as initially feared, with many expecting that the worst from the trade war has now passed.

Prices for the 10-year treasury were lower, raising yields to 4.42% from Monday’s 4.39%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices sagged 11 cents to $67.82 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices dropped $25.60 to $3,317.20 U.S. an ounce.