TSX Enjoys Slight Gains

Equities in Canada’s largest centre experienced solid, unspectacular gains Tuesday, propelled mostly by energy issues.

The TSX Composite Index recovered 37.18 points to close out Tuesday at 26,426.64.

The Canadian dollar slid 0.04 cents to 72.89 cents U.S.

As mentioned, energy concerns showed the way, as CES Energy improved 34 cents, or 5.4%, to $6.63, while Baytex took on a dime, or 4.3%, to $2.42.

In utilities, Algonquin Power climbed $1.18, or 16%, to $8.54, while Transalta Corp. shares gathered 71 cents, or 5.2%, to $14.25.

Health-care stocks also flexed their muscles, with Bausch Health Companies ahead 14 cents, or 2.3%, to $6.29, while Chartwell Retirement Residences gained 21 cents, or 1.2%, to $18.41.

Consumer staples, on the other hand, steered the ship in the other way, with North West Company dropping $1.38, or 2.4%, to$56.47, while George Weston retreated $4.56, or 1.6%, to $275.83.

In gold stocks, Alamos Gold dropped 51 cents, or 1.4%, to $36.97, while Osisko Gold Royalties listed 23 cents lower to $36.83.

In telecoms, BCE lost 41 cents, or 1.3%, to $30.11, while TELUS Corp. handed over 10 cents to $22.51.

On Monday, the White House said that U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will probably speak this week to iron out trade issues, days after Trump accused Beijing of violating an agreement to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions.

Markets will closely monitor the call between the two leaders, as ongoing tariff-induced trade tensions between the world's two largest economies have caused significant volatility in global equities and businesses.

Additionally, the Trump administration pushed countries for their best trade offers by Wednesday, a sign that trade negotiations were on the horizon.

Meanwhile, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development trimmed its global growth outlook and said the trade war was taking a bigger toll on the U.S. economy than before.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange hiked 9.82 points, or 1.4%, to 717.23.

Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups closed positive, led by energy, sprinting 1.5%, utilities, up 1.1%, and health-care, better by 0.5%.

The four laggards were weighed most by consumer staples, sliding 1.2%, gold, off 0.6%, and telecoms, settling 0.5%.

ON WALLSTREET

The S&P 500 rose Tuesday, fueled by strong gains in AI leader Nvidia, as investors anticipated details on potential U.S. trade deals.

The Dow Jones Industrials popped 214.16 points to 42,519.64.

The broader index added 34.43 points to 5,970.37

The NASDAQ Composite surged 156.34 points to 19,389.96.

Joby Aviation shares surged more than 13% after entering a memorandum of understanding to explore opportunities for entering the Saudi Arabia market.

Nvidia, along with other chip stocks, helped drive this advance. The dominant maker of artificial intelligence chips advanced more than 3%, extending Monday’s gain and passing Microsoft in market cap for the first time since January. Meanwhile, others like Broadcom picked up 3% and Micron Technology rose 4%.

Tuesday’s declines follow the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development cutting its U.S. growth outlook. The OECD now sees the U.S. economy expanding by just 1.6%, down from 2.2%.

Beijing countered President Donald Trump’s accusations that it had violated a temporary trade agreement. Investors had grown hopeful that the two countries could work out a trade deal, but this latest development points to negotiations taking a turn for the worse.

Meanwhile, the European Union criticized Trump’s intention to double steel tariffs to 50%, saying that such a move “undermines” its own negotiations with the U.S. An EU spokesperson said that the bloc was “prepared to impose countermeasures.”

Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained, lowering yields to Monday’s 4.45%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices picked up 82 cents to $63.34 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices retreated $22.00 to $3,375.20 U.S. an ounce.