Canada Stocks: TSX gains as technology shares climb; bank earnings, US tariffs in focus
CANADA STOCKS-TSX gains as technology shares climb; bank earnings, US tariffs in focus By Sudeshna Ghoshal
August 25 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged higher on Tuesday, helped by technology stocks, while investors assessed strong quarterly bank earnings and ongoing trade tensions with the U.S.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index .GSPTSE rose 0.3% to 36,797.02 points by 10:10 a.m. ET.
Technology shares .SPTTTK led gains on the main index, lifted by a 5.4% gain in Firan Tech Group FTG.TO.
On Wall Street, tech stocks recovered from a selloff ahead of AI heavyweight Nvidia's NVDA.O results and an inflation report.
The broader financial index .SPTTFS climbed 0.8%, as Bank of Nova Scotia BNS.TO gained 4.4% on a quarterly profit beat. Bank of Montreal BMO.TO also beat quarterly profit estimates, but its shares were little changed.
The two banks are among Canada's Big Six lenders and control a large chunk of the market. Financial stocks have outperformed the TSX this year.
President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to raise U.S. tariffs on all cars, trucks and automotive parts from Canada to 50% starting January 1, 2027 — escalating a trade fight after negotiations collapsed last week.
"Investors might be looking closer and looking at Canadian manufacturing, how that's going to be impacted by the trade," said Michael Dehal, a senior portfolio manager at Dehal Investment Partners at Raymond James.
The deal on the table would have cut the top-line tariffs on Canadian cars and light-duty trucks to 15% from 25% and that on aluminum and steel to 25% from 50%.
Trump also said on Tuesday he was considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to "Lake America."
Meanwhile, energy shares .SPTTEN shed 1.4% and were among the biggest decliners as oil prices fell over 3% to a one-week low, as traders shrugged off the latest U.S. sanctions against Iran.O/R
Five of the TSX's 10 major sectors traded lower.
(Reporting by Sudeshna Ghoshal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)
((Sudeshna.Ghoshal@thomsonreuters.com;))