Canada’s main stock index remained buoyant midday Friday, led by commodity and telecom stocks, while investors assessed fresh comments from U.S. President Donald Trump on U.S.-China tariffs, ahead of a weekend meeting between the two biggest economies.
The TSX Composite Index held onto gains of 28.51 points to reach noon EDT Friday at 25,282.57. The index has climbed 1% on the week so far.
The Canadian dollar was off 0.08 cents at 71.73 cents U.S.
U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines and Korean Air Lines will acquire an aggregate 25% stake in Canada’s WestJet Airlines for $550 million from Onex Corp., whose shares dipped 36 cents to $101.54.
Communication stocks led the parade, as TELUS Corporation gained $1.29, or 6.2%, to $22.09, after the communications technology firm reported first-quarter profit and revenue above Wall Street estimates.
In economic news, Statistics Canada reports the economy created 7,400 in April, and the employment rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 60.8%. The unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 6.9%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange inched up 0.96 points to 680, for a jump of 3.6% since last Friday.
The 12 subgroups were evenly split as morning became afternoon, telecoms gaining 3%, while gold soared 2%, and energy rushed ahead 1.5%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by information technology, down1.8%, utilities, falling 0.6%, and industrials, dialing back 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks edged lower Friday as investors await much-anticipated trade talks between U.S. and Chinese officials this weekend.
The Dow Jones Industrials retreated 69.99 points to 41,298.46.
The S&P 500 index dropped 8.32 points to 5,665.62.
The NASDAQ Composite fell 4.38 points to 17,923.75.
Week to date, the S&P 500 is on pace for a 0.7% loss, while the NASDAQ is on track to lose about 0.6%. The Dow is down roughly 0.2%.
Traders hope the U.K. agreement will establish a framework for the U.S. to quickly strike more deals with major nations, even though a 10% tariff rate on the U.K. appears to be the baseline for the globe.
The president also wrote on Truth Social that an “80% Tariff on China seems right” ahead of talks lead by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent with China counterparts in Switzerland this weekend.
“Many Trade Deals in the hopper, all good (GREAT!) ones!,” said Trump, a day after announcing a preliminary trade agreement with the U.K., which marked the first deal between the U.S. and a global trading partner since Trump’s “reciprocal” tariff announcement in early April.
While this is a de-escalation somewhat from the current 145% tariff on China, it’s still higher than many expected where the administration would go to jumpstart talks.
Bloomberg News had reported earlier that the rate could be lowered below 60% as soon as this week.
It was also unclear if the president is talking about a long-term tariff rate on China or a temporary one during negotiations.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury moved forward, lowering yields to 4.36% from Thursday’s 4.39%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices prospered 90 cents to $60.81 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold revived $39.30 to $3,330.60 U.S.
Stocks Fall as Investors Cautious