Canadian stocks ended nearly flat on Thursday as Iran's reluctance to engage with the U.S. for negotiations has resulted in twin blockades across the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns of a protracted war and long-term inflation, prompting traders to avoid risky assets.
After opening below yesterday's close, today the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index remained volatile throughout the session giving back early gains before settling at 33,912.93, down by 42.18 points (or 0.12%).
Seven of the 11 sectors posted gains today, with the industrials sector leading the pack.
The Middle East conflict continued to steer the market trajectory as investors focused on the developments in U.S.-Iran ceasefire while staying away from risky bets.
In the ongoing gulf war, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire on April 8.
Hours before the ceasefire was set to lapse, Trump agreed to extend it with no specific deadline in order to allow Iranian negotiators to come up with a proposal to end U.S.-Iran hostilities.
This open-ended unilateral announcement boosted market sentiment as it gave rise to expectations that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen soon.
However, the Iranian regime has so far not come forward with any plans to schedule peace talks. Instead, Iran rejected any initiative for dialogue until the U.S. withdraws the naval blockade on Iranian ports.
Trump stated via his social media platform Truth Social that the Iranian regime is torn apart by "hardliners" and "moderates."
Trump also issued orders to shoot any boat linked to Iran approaching the Strait of Hormuz as they could start laying sea mines. He also asserted that U.S. minesweepers are engaged in removing all the mines planted earlier by Iran.
Claiming that U.S. forces have full control of the strait, Trump asserted that it has been completely sealed for Iran-linked ships and would remain so until Iran agrees to a peace plan.
Meanwhile, Iran posted a video of its commando guards capturing a cargo ship indicating Hormuz remains still under Iran's control.
These conflicting claims by the U.S. and Iran and the two separate blockades on traffic across the strait along with Iran's reluctance to participate in a dialogue process with the U.S. have escalated oil and energy supply-related concerns.
Citing officials familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported that mediators from Pakistan, Turkey, and Egypt are frantically attempting to salvage the U.S.-Iran peace talks before the situation gets out of hand.
Traders are winding back their expectations of restoration of normalcy across the strait in the near-term.
Oil prices went higher, and in turn, long-term inflation concerns rose.
Besides the gulf crisis, traders in Canada are awaiting signals in the ongoing negotiations between Canada and the U.S. over renewal of Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (or CUSMA).
With the July 1 review checkpoint around two months away, progress remains elusive while concerns keep rising as economic stakes to the tune of $1.2 trillion in annual Canada-U.S. trade hangs in balance.
On the economic front, data released by Statistics Canada today revealed that producer prices jumped 2.40% month over month in March following a 0.60% increase in February and above projections of 1.60% with a record 27.40% surge seen in prices of energy and petroleum products due to the ongoing closure of Strait of Hormuz.
On a year-on-year basis, producer prices soared 7.80% in March after a 5.60% surge in February,
Major sectors that gained in today's trading were Industrials (2.77%), Energy (1.77%), Utilities (1.56%), and Consumer Discretionary (1.08%).
Among the individual stocks, Waste Connections Inc (8.26%), Mullen Group Ltd (6.81%), Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited (5.62%), Canadian National Railway Company (4.38%), and Paramount Resources Ltd (3.03%) were the prominent gainers.
Major sectors that lost in today's trading were Financials (0.06%), Materials (1.49%), IT (4.48%), and Healthcare (7.73%).
Among the individual stocks, Curaleaf Holdings Inc (23.66%), Docebo Inc (7.74%), Shopify Inc (5.73%), and Constellation Software (5.67%) were the notable losers.
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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.