Truce In The Middle East Lifts TSX To Record High

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks reached new record highs on Wednesday as the ongoing truce between Israel and Iran pushed the market higher, with mining stocks taking the lead.

The benchmark Canadian stock market index, the S&P/TSX Composite Index, today opened just past yesterday's close and swung for a while.

Then, moving steadily up, the index settled at 26,751.95, up by 185.63 (or 0.70%).

Global markets felt a sigh of relief as the truce brought on by the US President following a serious 12-day war between Israel and Iran is still holding with no news of violation from either side. The news of US officials planning to meet Iranian counterparts next week to discuss a nuclear deal indicated diplomacy is back on the table.

Following the recent G7 Summit in Alberta, Canadian PM Mark Carney stated that the US and Canada are working together to reach a trade deal within the next 30 days. However, no further reports on the developments have surfaced so far.

According to data from Statistics Canada, in April, average wages (C$1.297 per week) for working Canadians outpaced (4.4% increase Y-o-Y) inflation, which increased 1.7% in the same period.

Canadian economists are of the opinion that the Bank of Canada could be done cutting interest rates. The central bank's benchmark lending rate currently is 2.75%. Policy makers have held rates in their last two meetings after cutting seven consecutive times since June 2024 from 5%.

On the external front, data showed that the US economy shrank at an annualized rate of 0.5% in the first quarter of 2025, suggesting headwinds ahead due to tariffs.

While the Materials (1.71%) sector gained the most in today's trading, other major sectors that rose were Industrials (0.85%), Financials (0.78%), Healthcare (0.39%), and Consumer Discretionary (0.35%).

Among the individual stocks, Novagold (10.78%), Teck Resources (7.85%), Capstone Mining (7.37%), and Ero Copper (8.10%) were the prominent gainers.

Major sectors that lost in today's trading were Communication Services (0.52%), IT (0.26%), and Consumer Staples (0.10%).

Among the individual stocks, Quebecor Inc (1.23%), BCE Inc (0.90%), Blackberry (3.73%), and Shopify (1.26%) were the notable losers.