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.
American Dollar Exchange Rate