Canadian stocks tumbled on Tuesday as the delay in the scheduled peace talks between the U.S. and Iran triggered escalation concerns as the two-week ceasefire in the ongoing gulf war is set to end tomorrow night.
After opening a little lower than yesterday's close, today the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index regained ground but lost the momentum to trade firmly negative before settling at 33,808.30, down by 551.73 points (or 1.61%).
Only two of the 11 sectors posted gains today, with the energy sector leading the pack.
In the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict that began on February 28, the standoff on peace talks continued to dictate market movements.
The two-week ceasefire in the U.S.-Iran conflict, announced early in April by U.S. President Donald Trump, is set to lapse tomorrow.
After the failure of the first round of peace talks between the U.S. and Iran 10 days before, under Trump's orders, the U.S. navy enforced a blockade on all ships trying to enter or exit Iranian ports across the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has already shut down the strait since the war broke out on February 28.
Consequently, increasing concerns of supply-disruption dominated the markets, sending oil prices higher.
Last weekend, Trump assured of a second round of negotiations to be headed by U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his team. With expectations of an end to the crisis rising, markets calmed a bit.
However, the cooling was short-lived after Trump announced that the U.S. navy captured an Iranian-flagged vessel. Angered by the U.S. move, Iran called it a "violation of ceasefire" and "armed piracy".
Iranian state media indicated that Iran would not participate in any peace talks under threat.
Earlier, Trump had warned Iran that the U.S. military will obliterate all its bridges and power plants if they retreat from making a deal with the U.S.
Today, Trump confirmed that Iran would eventually make a deal with the U.S. and prided that the U.S. forces have trounced the Iranian navy.
Later, in an interview with CNBC, Trump declined to extend the ceasefire and reaffirmed of a "great deal" coming up, relatively quickly. Trump added that if Iran strikes a deal, it can become a strong nation.
In a telephonic interview with Bloomberg News, Trump reiterated that the U.S. has got "all the time in the world" and is in no rush to make any "bad deal".
The New York Times reported that U.S. Vice President JD Vance's trip to Pakistan for the next round of peace talks has been put on hold with Iran reluctant to respond to American positions.
The U.S.-Iran standoff is keeping the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut, pushing oil prices higher, bringing inflationary pressures to the forefront once again.
On the domestic front, with the joint review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (or CUSMA) coming up soon, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a new Advisory Committee on Canada-U.S. economic relations that will include expert leaders from major sectors of the Canadian economy which will hold its first meeting on April 27.
Renewal of this high-stakes deal is crucial for Canada as it allows Canadian exporters (and Canadian economy) to bypass the heavy tariffs imposed by Trump on all Canadian exports to the U.S.
Major sectors that gained in today's trading were Energy (1.89%) and Consumer Staples (0.61%).
Among the individual stocks, Athabasca Oil Corp (3.06%), Vermilion Energy Inc (3.01%), Baytex Energy Corp (2.95%), Cenovus Energy Inc (2.88%), and Empire Company Ltd (1.10%) were the prominent gainers.
Major sectors that lost in today's trading were IT (1.18%), Utilities (1.40%), Healthcare (1.75%), and Materials (5.39%).
Among the individual stocks, Novagold Res Inc (13.27%), G Mining Ventures Corp (11.45%), Orla Mining Ltd (10.56%), Lundin Gold Inc (9.78%), and Bausch Health Companies Inc (3.09%) were the notable losers.
Methanex Corp (5.58%) and Superior Plus Corp (3.22%) were among the prime market-moving stocks today.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis
April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.