TSX Finishes Negative Thursday on Trade Situation

Markets in Toronto lost some of their strength Thursday, giving up the momentum they had carried from the last week or so, amid uncertainty over American tariff policy.

The TSX Composite Index lost 72.89 points to 26,210.56

The Canadian dollar restored 0.22 cents to 72.41 cents U.S.

The Court of International Trade on Wednesday found Trump had overstepped his authority by imposing duties on trading partners, a situation reversed during the afternoon on appeal.

The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reported a rise in second-quarter profit, led by its capital markets business. CIBC lost 28 cents to $93.71

Royal Bank of Canada posted a jump in second-quarter profit, as the country's biggest bank benefited from the acquisition of HSBC's domestic business and the performance of its wealth management business. Shares in Canada’s biggest bank doffed $6.20, or 3.5%, to $172.40.

EQB's shares descended $7.38, or 7.4%, to $91.80, after the lender reported second-quarter results.

Consumer staples also got bruised, with Alimentation Couche-Tard sinking $1.36, or 1.9%, to $71.60, while Metro flopped $1.01 to $106.69.

Among consumer discretionary concerns, Gildan Activewear dipped $1.48, or 2.2%, to $66.48, while Restaurant Brands lost $1.69, or 1.7%, to $97.62.

Real-estate issues tried to make up the gap, as units of H & R REIT acquired 37 cents, or 3.7%, to $10.52, while Granite REIT hiked $1.95, or 2.9%, to $70.15.

In telecoms, BCE grabbed 44 cents, or 1.5%, to $29.71, while Rogers shares took on 32 cents to $36.69.

Health-care shares were also, well, healthy, as Bausch Health Companies adding six cents, or 1%, to $6.36, while Tilray increased two cents, or 3.2%, to 64 cents.

On the economic front, Statistics Canada said the number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer—measured as "payroll employment" in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—decreased by 54,100 (-0.3%) in March, following a decline of 40,200 (-0.2%) in February.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange bowed 5.52 points to 696.88.

Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower, as consumer staples and financials each sank 0.5%, while consumer discretionary stock demurred 0.3%.

The five gainers were led by real-estate, better by 0.9%, telecoms, improving 0.8%, and health-care, haler 0.6%.

ON WALLSTREET

The S&P 500 rose modestly Thursday, led by Nvidia. But gains were restricted, with investors cautious following a salvo of judicial developments surrounding President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs

The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 117.03 points to conclude Thursday at 42,215.73, despite a slide of 3.5% in Salesforce following earnings.

The much-broader index gained 23.62 points to 5,912.17.

The NASDAQ Composite moved upward 74.93 points to 19,175.87.

The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled on Wednesday night that Trump overstepped his authority when he imposed his “reciprocal” tariffs. The court ordered that the challenged tariff orders be vacated.

But the Trump administration filed a notice of appeal quickly following the judgment and an appeals court reinstated the levies on Thursday afternoon. The administration said it could ask the Supreme Court as early as Friday to pause the federal court’s original ruling if necessary.

Still, Nvidia shares provided upward market momentum with a jump of nearly 3%. The chipmaker exceeded expectations on the top and bottom lines in the first quarter, as its data center business recorded year-over-year growth of 73%.

Stocks are coming off of a lackluster session Wednesday, but the major U.S. indexes are on track to close the week — and month — higher.

The S&P 500 is better on the month by 1.7%, while the 30-stock Dow has progressed 1.2% this week, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ has rallied more than 2%.

This month, the S&P 500 has gained 6%. The Dow has added 3.5%, while the NASDAQ has jumped close to 10%.

Prices for the 10-year Treasury were ahead by noon, lowering yields to 4.43% from Wednesday’s 4.44%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices dipped 91 cents to $60.93 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices climbed $18.60 to $3,313.50