TORONTO — Canada's main stock index saw gains Thursday, helped by strength in base metals stocks, while U.S. markets also climbed.
The S&P/TSX composite index finished 185.63 points higher at 26,751.95.
"The TSX has been a bit up and down lately. Today, things might be up. But we've seen gold prices come off, we've seen oil prices come off, which is not good for the TSX. Obviously, a lot of gold and oil producers trade there," Allan Small, a senior investment adviser at iA Private Wealth Inc., said in an interview.
"On the flip side, we've seen bank stocks move higher. I think there's some deregulation happening in the U.S. with respect to their banking institutions. So that's been a positive for U.S. banking. Our banks might get a bit of a boost from that as well."
Small added that there is a tech rally in U.S. equity markets that is spilling over into Canadian markets as well. Going forward, he expects Canadian markets to rally alongside the U.S.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 404.41 points at 43,386.84. The S&P 500 index was up 48.86 points at 6,141.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 194.36 points at 20,167.91.
Small said the "overall good feeling" has continued after a ceasefire between Israel and Iran was announced earlier this week.
He also noted that earnings from a large chip company spurred gains in semiconductor and chip stocks.
"As we know, those stocks like Nvidia, AMD, they've been leading the way recently for this market rally," Small said.
Micron Technology, which sells computer memory and data storage, swung between gains and losses after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said it’s seeing growing AI-driven memory demand, and the company gave a forecast for profit in the current quarter that topped analysts’ expectations. Its stock ended the day down one per cent.
Chip company Nvidia, which has been the poster child of the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology, added 0.5 per cent. It’s the most valuable company in the U.S. stock market after rushing 61 per cent higher since April 8, towering over the S&P 500’s gain of 23 per cent.
U.S. rate cuts could also have a positive impact on the markets going forward, according to Small.
"We're also hearing more and more that the (U.S.) Federal Reserve is warming up to perhaps some interest rate cuts in the not-so-distant future," he said.
Small pointed to a positive outlook regarding U.S. borrowing costs and current geopolitical circumstances.
"Now, if we can see some trade deals done in the coming weeks, I think that will probably be the next important milestone or next important thing to get this market to the next level," Small said.
Tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on April 2 have been put on hold until July 9.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.31 cents US compared with 72.80 cents US on Wednesday.
The August crude oil contract was up 32 cents US at US$65.24 per barrel.
Small said the price of oil moved higher as a response to the conflict in the Middle East and has since pulled back.
"The fear premium or the war premium has definitely come out, and oil is back down once again, which is again good for inflation, good for markets in general," he said, adding that he expects oil prices to move lower going forward.
The August gold contract was up US$4.90 at US$3,348.00 an ounce.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2025.
— With files from The Associated Press.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
Daniel Johnson, The Canadian Press
