Canadian stocks inched higher on Friday as investors assessed U.S. efforts to end the ongoing gulf war against Iran. Surges in gold and oil prices led to gains in the materials and energy sectors, respectively, offsetting weakness in other sectors.
After opening lower than yesterday's close, today the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index lost the momentum gained earlier in the session and turned lower but gained ground to settle at 31,960.65, up by 73.13 points (or 0.23%).
Three of the 11 sectors posted gains today, with the materials sector leading the pack.
In a message via his social media platform Truth Social, U.S. President Donald Trump announced extending the "pause period" on the planned strikes by U.S. forces on Iran's energy plants by 10 days until Monday, April 6.
On Monday, Trump has announced he ordered a pause on all strikes on Iran's energy and power installations for a five-day period. Trump added that the U.S. and Iran were having very productive talks.
Yesterday, Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed that U.S.-Iran "indirect talks" were going on through messages relayed by Pakistan.
Through Pakistan, the U.S. had delivered a 15-point peace proposal to Iran. Dar also added that Turkey and Egypt were backing the diplomatic efforts.
Though Iran's state media claimed that Iran responded negatively, Reuters reported that without outrightly rejecting the proposal, Iran was reviewing it deeply.
Even as Trump's earlier deadline came to an end today, market concerns disappeared following today's extension announcement.
Today, while announcing the extension, Trump also asserted that the U.S.-Iran talks are "going very well" despite a section of news outlets reporting to the contrary.
Prior to this announcement, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff also stated that the U.S. was seeing "strong signs" that Iran could come for negotiations.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt affirmed that talks were ongoing and were "productive."
Later in the day, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps asserted its full control over the Strait of Hormuz and announced its closure and warned of "harsh response" if any vessel attempts to pass through the channel. In particular, the IRGC prohibited movement of all tankers connected to the U.S. and Israel.
Israel continued its military offensives against Iran despite diplomatic measures by the U.S. to contain the situation.
Iranian steelmakers Khouzestan Steel and Mobarakeh Steel were hit by air strikes that damaged power infrastructure and storage facilities.
In retaliation, Iran has vowed strikes targeting a list of steel plants in Kuwait, U.A.E., Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar.
With de-escalation signs slowly fading, investors avoided risky bets.
Yesterday, the Bank of Canada conceded that it faces "a tough job" navigating structural shifts that will permanently reshape the country's economic landscape.
Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers warned that the next five years could prove as turbulent as the last.
Canada also faces another challenge of renewing the Canada-United States-Mexico trade deal with the U.S. smoothly.
The deal offers an economically viable safe route for Canadian exports to the U.S. However, concerns of the U.S. walking out of the agreement and its enormous burden on Canadian economy is now drawing investors' attention.
CUSMA negotiations between Canada and the U.S. are yet to gather pace.
Major sectors that gained in today's trading were Materials (3.38%), Energy (2.84%), and Consumer Staples (0.44%).
Among the individual stocks, Methanex Corp (9.96%), Ssr Mining Inc (7.41%), First Majestic Silver Corp (7.21%), Strathcona Resources Ltd (8.85%), Athabasca Oil Corp (7.87%), and Vermilion Energy Inc (5.00%) were the prominent gainers.
Major sectors that lost in today's trading were Industrials (1.09%), Financials (1.13%), Consumer Discretionary (1.91%), and Healthcare (2.29%).
Among the individual stocks, Mda Space Ltd (6.58%), Ats Corporation (5.05%), Aritzia Inc (4.41%), and Goeasy Ltd (4.66%) were the notable losers.
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Market Analysis
May 15, 2026 15:25 ET Apart from the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, the main news on the economics front this week included key price data from the U.S. and the first quarter economic growth figures from major economies. Both consumer prices and producer costs have started to reflect the effect of supply shocks due to the Middle East conflict. In Europe, GDP data was in focus, while inflation data from China dominated the news flow in Asia.