Partially offsetting the gains from the two previous sessions, Canadian stocks moved lower on Wednesday after the U.S. and Iran turned down each other's peace proposals, leaving the Strait of Hormuz still shut.
After opening below yesterday's close, today the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index traded lower throughout the session before settling at 34,041.43, down by 249.30 points (or 0.73%).
Utilities and healthcare were the only two of the 11 sectors that posted gains today, with utilities leading the pack.
U.S. President Donald Trump is in China to attend a two-day summit where he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss a broad spectrum of bilateral issues including the ongoing gulf war.
Prior to his departure, Trump asserted that the U.S. can end the conflict with Iran on its own without China's help, either through diplomacy or "otherwise." Trump's comments renewed concerns of a fresh war in the Middle East.
The U.S.-Israel versus Iran war which began on February 28, resulted in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint in the shipping route across the Persian Gulf, thereby crippling oil and energy trade.
Trump announced a two-week ceasefire early in April and later extended it for an indefinite period. Efforts to utilize this period to find a solution to the conflict through negotiations failed.
Last week, the U.S. offered Iran a 14-point peace proposal and after reviewing it, Iran submitted its response through Pakistan.
Trump outright rejected Iran's counter-proposal as "totally unacceptable" and stated that the ceasefire is now on "life support."
Yesterday, CNN reported that frustrated by the Iranian regime's lack of response to U.S. initiative for diplomacy, Trump is considering restarting the war.
Today, NBS News reported that the Pentagon is preparing to rename the military offensive from "Operation Epic Fury" to "Operation Sledgehammer" hinting at expansive and sharp attacks.
Through Truth Social, Trump reiterated that all Iranian navy ships have been sunk by the U.S. navy and claimed that Iran has no navy and no air force and the country is on the brink of economic collapse.
Investors are now anticipating Chinese mediation to bring about a reconciliation between the U.S. and Iran since China and Iran are long-term allies and a majority of Iranian oil exports are destined to China.
In a White House briefing, U.S. President JD Vance stated that he believed progress is being made in the U.S.-Iran negotiations without offering further details.
On the domestic front, Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney is preparing to introduce legislation that will enable federal approval for big projects (from pipelines to transmission lines) quicker and easier.
Aiming to expand cooperation in science and technology, Mexico and Canada have signed a new agreement.
On the business front, Equinox Gold is buying Orla Mining Ltd for USD5.1 billion.
The combined entity will create a new North American senior gold producer with nearly 1.1 million ounces of annual gold production with an approximate market capitalization of $18.50 billion and will operate under the name Equinox Gold Corp.
The transaction is set to close by Q3 2026, pending all formalities.
Major sectors that lost in today's trading were Real Estate (0.94%), Financials (1.05%), IT (1.06%), and Consumer Discretionary (1.47%).
Among the individual stocks, Riocan Real Est (2.35%), Granite Real Estate Investment Trust (1.95%), Primaris REIT (1.94%), Aritzia Inc (2.86%), Restaurant Brands International Inc (2.37%), and Goeasy Ltd (5.07%) were the notable losers.
Major sectors that gained in today's trading were Utilities (0.22%) and Healthcare (0.08%).
Among the individual stocks, Northland Power Inc (1.73%), Transalta Corporation (1.16%), Brookfield Infra Partners (0.73%), Brookfield Renewable Partners (0.66%), and Curaleaf Holdings Inc (1.70%) were the prominent gainers.
Finning Intl (8.70%), Abrasilver Resource Corp (7.52%), and Capstone Copper Corp (4.93%) were among the prime market-moving stocks today.
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Market Analysis
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.