Canadian stocks ticked lower on Friday amid the ongoing Strait of Hormuz blockade, while reports indicating that Iran has sent a fresh peace proposal to the U.S. to end the gulf war limited the losses.
After opening a little higher than yesterday's close, today the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index gave ground later to trade lower before settling at 33,891.18, down by 73.15 points (or 0.22%).
Four of the 11 sectors posted gains today, with the IT sector leading the pack.
The gulf war entered its third month this week and continued to remain the focus of investors. Soon after the war began, Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. President Donald Trump enforced a naval blockade on Iran's ports preventing entry or exit of any vessel.
The twin-blockade catapulted oil prices to levels not seen in the recent four years. Investors from across the world including Canada stayed away from risky assets owing to inflationary concerns.
Major central banks, including the Bank of Canada as well as the U.S. Federal Reserve, held their respective interest rates unchanged in their recent monetary policy meetings.
Last weekend, Trump cancelled a second round of peace talks between the U.S. and Iran.
On Monday, Iran offered a peace proposal through which it wanted discussions on Iran's nuclear ambitions to take place at a later date.
Trump has been insisting that Iran should never have nuclear weapons and expressed optimism on the effectiveness of the U.S. naval blockade to force Iran to agree to U.S. demands rather than "bombing."
On Wednesday, through Truth Social, Trump posted a picture of himself holding a gun, and messaged Iran to get its act together soon.
Trump observed that Iran was in a state of collapse, desperately wanting the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
When reports indicated that the U.S military could conduct a "short wave of strikes" against Iran, Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps threatened of "long and painful" retaliation if it happens.
The U.S. Treasury warned shipping companies against paying any toll to Iran for a passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued a message to Iranians stressing that Iran will neither give away its control over the Strait of Hormuz nor its rights to build nuclear weapons.
These mutual threats and counter-threats renewed concerns of a fresh war in the gulf, sending oil prices higher.
Today, Iran's state-run news agency IRNA reported that Iran sent a revised peace proposal through Pakistani mediators for the U.S. to consider, a development that gave a breather to investors, and oil prices plunged.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran is ready to compromise in an effort to revive talks.
In a crucial hearing in the U.S. Congress on a debate on a vote intended to seek Congress' approval to continue the war, Trump's team argued that the U.S was "not at war" with Iran at all and affirmed that a ceasefire now in place nullifies the need for any mandatory approval.
Aside from the effects of skyrocketing oil prices on the economy, Canadian investors are focused on the outcome of the Canada-U.S. trade talks ahead of the upcoming Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement renewal.
Data released by S&P Global Canada today revealed that the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 53.30 in April from 50.00 in March. Notably, this is the strongest improvement in business environment since June 2022.
Major sectors that gained in today's trading were IT (1.94%), Communication Services (0.39%), Utilities (0.31%), and Consumer Staples (0.23%).
Among the individual stocks, Docebo Inc (7.82%), Shopify Inc (5.22%), Coveo Solutions Inc (3.39%), and AltaGas Ltd (2.53%) were the prominent gainers.
Major sectors that lost in today's trading were Consumer Discretionary (0.82%), Healthcare (0.87%), Energy (1.07%), and Materials (1.14%).
Among the individual stocks, Magna International Inc (4.36%), Curaleaf Holdings Inc (3.77%), Imperial Oil (4.04%), and Terravest Industries Inc (2.87%) were the notable losers.
Badger Infrastructure Solutions Ltd (19.27%), Aya Gold and Silver Inc (6.73%), and 5N Plus Inc (6.68%) were among the prime market-moving stocks today.
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Market Analysis
May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.