Canadian stocks advanced on Monday, as gains in the oil-linked energy sector and a surge in the silver-linked materials sector pushed the index higher but inflationary concerns due to an elusive U.S.-Iran peace deal capped the gains.
After opening a little lower than the previous week's close, today the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index gained ground to trade positively firm throughout the session before settling at 34,138.88, up by 61.12 points (or 0.18%).
Three of the 11 sectors posted gains today, with the materials sector leading the pack.
The U.S.-Iran war entered day number 73 today with a ceasefire declared by the U.S. administration holding other than a few sporadic firing incidents.
However, a breakthrough development on peace talks mediated by Pakistan continues to remain elusive, keeping the Middle East crisis still alive.
Last week, the U.S. administration offered Iran a 14-point proposal. Importantly, the U.S. wanted Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz immediately and agree to halt its nuclear ambitions for nearly a 12-year-period. The U.S. also wanted Iran to hand over its 60% enriched uranium inventory (nearly 440 kg) to the U.S.
If Iran agreed, in return the U.S. would lift sanctions imposed on Iranian exports, end the naval blockade on Iranian ports, and release billions of dollars of Iran's frozen assets.
After studying the U.S. plan, Iran offered a counter-proposal to the U.S. U.S. President Donald Trump rejected Iran's response and called it "totally unacceptable."
Separately, in a strongly worded message, Trump stated that Iran has been "playing games" with the U.S. for nearly 47 years and will no longer be able to do so.
CNN reported that Trump called the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran now on "massive life-support" and went on to call it "unbelievably weak." Trump added that he did not even read Iran's response fully.
However, a spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry stated that it was the U.S. which was placing "excessive demands."
Expectations of some resolution to the drawn out conflict diminished after each side blamed the other for placing unreasonable requests and consequently, oil-related inflationary concerns grew stronger again, pushing the energy sector higher.
An upcoming meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in a couple of days has injected optimism among traders. Since China has longstanding commercial ties with Iran, experts feel that the gulf crisis could top the agenda in their discussion and could result in a positive development.
The Bank of Canada released the results of Q1 2026 Market Participants's survey conducted from March 25 to April 1, based on the responses from nearly 28 financial market participants. According to the survey, the respondents expected a real GDP growth of 1.60% by the end of 2026 and 1.90% by the end of 2027.
Last week, at the Global Progress Action Summit which centered around trade, tariffs, and a diverging relationship with the U.S., Prime Minister Mark Carney observed that Canada remains open to deeper integration with the U.S. in some sectors.
Carney's remarks assume significance ahead of an official review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement for free trade.
Major sectors that gained in today's trading were Materials (3.25%), Energy (1.69%), and Utilities (0.38%).
Among the individual stocks, Endeavour Silver Corp (12.60%), Silvercorp Metals Inc (9.14%), Barrick Mining Corporation (9.06%), Avino Silver and Gold Mines Ltd (8.90%), Strathcona Resources Ltd (3.77%), and Vermilion Energy Inc (3.65%) were the prominent gainers.
Major sectors that lost in today's trading were Industrials (1.30%), Consumer Discretionary (1.32%), Consumer Staples (1.99%), Healthcare (2.09%), and IT (3.84%).
Among the individual stocks, Docebo Inc (10.05%), Tecsys Inc (7.78%), Shopify Inc (6.90%), Bausch Health Companies Inc (6.98%), and Loblaw CO (2.88%) were the notable losers.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Business News
May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.