Canadian stocks ticked higher on Friday, extending the gains from the two previous sessions as investors watched the efforts on securing a U.S.-Iran peace deal against a warning by the International Energy Agency of crude oil shortages in a few months if the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked.
After opening higher than yesterday's close, today the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index lost momentum early but gained ground to trade positive throughout the rest of the session before settling at 34,471.36, up by 61.87 points (or 0.18%).
Seven of the 11 sectors posted gains today, with the IT sector leading the pack.
The U.S.-Israel versus Iran war entered day number 84 today.
While speaking at the GLOBSEC Forum in Czech, Presidential Adviser to the United Arab Emirates Anwar Gargash cautioned that the chances for a U.S.-Iran agreement over the Strait of Hormuz issue stands at "50-50."
Gargash called for freeing the strait from Iran's leverage and a settlement that guarantees free vessel movement through the Strait of Hormuz, which is now blocked by Iran.
The Guardian reported the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol stated that oil markets will soon enter a "red zone" by July and August due to the rapid depletion of oil inventories.
The Hormuz crisis has virtually halted all fresh oil transits from all Arab nations since February 28 when the war began.
Birol stressed that the most important solution to the gulf war's shocks would be the "full and unconditional opening" of the Strait of Hormuz.
Stating that nearly 14 million barrels of oil per day were missing from the market due to the current supply disruption, Birol sounded less optimistic about oil production recovering fully for at least a year in the Middle East.
After U.S. President Donald Trump paused a planned military attack on Iran to allow room for negotiations, Pakistan started its mediation to break the deadlock in achieving a peace deal.
Days before, the Interior Minister of Pakistan Mohsin Naqvi rushed to Iran, his second visit within a week. Naqvi met Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi for the second time in 24 hours, and other senior Iranian officials. Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir reached Iran today to aid in the negotiations.
Quoting a senior official, CBS News reported that Munir is joining the efforts since Naqvi's meetings enabled the negotiations to progress "in an important direction."
Reuters reported that Qatar has sent a team of negotiators in coordination with the United States.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that there was "some progress" in the negotiations though he added that he did not want to exaggerate. Rubio also called the attempts by Iran to toll the Strait of Hormuz traffic "unacceptable."
The Business Barometer long-term index released by Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which tracks 12-month forward expectations for business performance, fell sharply to 46.30 in May from a downwardly revised 58.00 in April, marking the lowest reading in a year.
The short-term optimism index, based on the 3-month outlook, also declined by roughly 7.00 to 47.90, reflecting weaker sentiment.
Data released by Statistics Canada today revealed that Canada's producer prices rose 2.00% month-over-month in April, following a 2.40% increase in March, exceeding market expectations of 1.3%. Year over year, prices jumped 11.40% in April.
Major sectors that gained in today's trading were IT (1.60%), Communication Services (1.28%), Utilities (0.78%), Industrials (0.49%), and Consumer Discretionary (0.35%).
Among the individual stocks, Blackberry Limited (18.52%), Celestica Inc (4.14%), Quebecor Inc (3.04%), Nfi Group Inc (6.07%), and Mda Space Ltd (5.10%) were the prominent gainers.
Major sectors that lost in today's trading were Energy (0.14%), Consumer Staples (0.37%), Healthcare (0.47%), and Materials (0.55%).
Among the individual stocks, Ces Energy Solutions Corp (1.48%), Metro Inc (0.76%), Empire Company Limited (0.71%), Perpetua Resources Corp (4.89%), Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp (3.30%), and Silvercorp Metals Inc (3.21%) were the notable losers.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis
May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.