TSX Positive at End of Thursday Session

Equities in Canada mirrored the performance of their American cousins Thursday, on perception of clearer trade policy south of the border.

The TSX Composite Index gained 92.88 points to close Thursday at 25,254.06.

The Canadian dollar slid 0.43 cents at 71.85 cents U.S.

In corporate news, Canadian Natural Resources beat analysts' estimates for first-quarter profit, as it benefited from higher oil and natural gas production. Natural Resources stock hiked $2.05 or 5.2%, to $41.87.

Elsewhere, Shopify fell 45 cents to $130.84, after the e-commerce company forecast second-quarter profit below estimates.

Cenovus Energy surged $1.46, or 8.9%, to $17.74, after the Canadian oil and gas producer beat first-quarter profit estimates.

Elsewhere in energy, Parex Resources thundered higher 81 cents, or 7.6%, to $11.30.

In telecoms, BCE sprang up $1.58, or 5.4%, to $30.96, while Cogeco Communications triumphed 31 cents to $68.49.

Consumer discretionary stocks did well also, Linamar sprinted $4.91, or 9.3%, to $57.99, while Aritzia hiked $2.64, or 4.7%, to $59.39.

Consumer staples, however, let the side down somewhat, with Loblaw sinking $8.43, or 3.7%, to $220.66, while Metro dipped $3.41, or 3.2%, to $103.58.

Among gold stocks, Equinox Gold dropped 77 cents, or 8.1%, to $8.70, while Kinross went south $1.06, or 4.9%, to $20.56.

In materials, Fortuna Silver lost $1.07, or 12.5T, to $7.47, while First Majestic Silver retreated 98 cents, or 11.3%, to $7.66.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange climbed 11.78 points, or 1.8%, to 679.04.

Eight of the 12 subgroups were higher by the closing bell, as energy rumbled 2.9%, telecoms improved 1.7%, and consumer discretionary stocks were 1.6% haler.

The four laggards were weighed most by consumer staples, down 2.3%, gold, duller by 1.6%, and materials, off 1.1%.

ON WALLSTREET

Stocks rose Thursday after President Donald Trump announced a trade deal framework between the U.S. and United Kingdom, the first major agreement hatched since the U.S. launched pre-emptive tariffs on most of the globe earlier this year.

The Dow Jones Industrials hiked 254.72 points to 41,368.69.

The S&P 500 index took on 32.67 points to 5,663.95.

The NASDAQ Composite jumped 189.98 points, or 1.1%, to 17,928.14

Trump announced the deal outline Thursday morning from the Oval Office with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on speakerphone. A 10% baseline tariff will remain on the U.K., according to a graphic posted on Truth Social post by Trump.

Trump, however, noted that the 10% U.K. tariff could be on the low end of deals with future countries and said that “some will be much higher because they have massive trade surpluses.”

Otherwise, the trade announcement was short on details and nothing was signed during the event.

Thursday’s moves come after a winning session on Wall Street that saw volatile moves, as investors digested the latest Federal Reserve policy announcement and monitored for signs of progress on trade deals. Market participants share increasing worries that a global trade war could send prices higher and worsen inflationary pressures.

The Fed on Wednesday kept its benchmark overnight borrowing unchanged, as expected. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said during his post-decision press conference that if announced tariffs remain at their current levels, they could lead to a slowdown in economic growth, a spike in long-term inflation and greater unemployment.

Tech shares saw a broad uptick after the Trump administration said Wednesday it will remove Biden-era chip restrictions. Shares of Alphabet rose 2% on Thursday after the company released a statement saying Google is continuing to see search query growth, pushing back on press reports Wednesday that cited an Apple executive saying there has been a decline in search on the Safari browser as more people use AI.

Boeing shares rose more than 4% after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested the U.S.-U.K. trade deal will lead to a multi-billion-dollar order of Boeing planes.

Prices for the 10-year Treasury settled back, raising yields to 4.39% from Wednesday’s 4.28%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite

directions

Oil prices sprinted $1.92 to $59.98 U.S. a barrel.

Prices for gold stumbled $80.50 to $3,311.40 U.S.