TSX Sheds 1.1% As Stocks Tumble On U.S. Policy Uncertainty

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market closed notably lower on Thursday amid uncertainty about the Trump administration's moves with regard to tariffs and economic policies.

The 25% tariffs by U.S. on Canadian goods and 10% on Canadian energy products came into force earlier this week. The Trump administration decided to delay the levy on auto companies for a month.

The Canadian government, for its part, announced reciprocal tariffs on over $150 billion of US imports.

Technology, healthcare, utilities, financials, real estate and materials shares were among the major losers in the session.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 286.78 points or 1.15% at 24,584.04, more than 100 points off the day's low of 24,476.47.

Aecon Group tanked 16%. The company posted a loss of $59.4 million in fiscal year 2024, as against a profit of $161.9 million in the previous year.

Hut 8 Corp, South Bow Corporation and Celestica plunged more than 10%. Descartes Systems Group closed lower by 8.6% and Brookfield Asset Management ended down 7%.

TecSys Inc., ATS Corporation, AtkinsRealis, Docebo Inc., Finning International, Shopify, Tourmaline Oil Corp., Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Franco-Nevada, Waste Connections, Enbridge, goeasy, Fairfax Financial Holdings and Onex Corporation lost 2 to 6%.

Parkland Corporation, Badger Infrastructure, Rogers Communications, Telesat Corporation, Seabridge, Alimentation Couche-Tard, Wajax Corporation, Stella-Jones, MEG Energy, BCE, Cenovus Energy, Nutrien, Ag Growth International and BRP Inc., gained 2 to 6%.

In economic news, the Ivey Purchasing Managers Index in Canada soared to 55.3 in February 2025 from 2020-lows of 47.1 in January.

The Canadian trade surplus widened to CAD 4.0 billion in January 2025, the largest since May 2022.

Canada's merchandise exports rose 5.5% to a record CAD 74.5 billion, while imports increased 2.3%, marking the fourth consecutive monthly rise for both.