Canada Stocks: TSX posts fourth straight weekly gain as Iran opens Strait of Hormuz

Magna International

17/04/2026 21:41

TSX ends up 0.9% at 34,346.29

Posts weekly gain of 1.9%

Materials group adds 2.2% as gold rises

Energy falls 4.8% as oil settles 11.45% lower

Updates at market close

By Tharuniyaa  Lakshmi and Fergal Smith

TORONTO, April 17 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Friday as investors globally cheered Iran's move to open the Strait of Hormuz, with gains for metal mining and consumer-related shares offsetting declines for energy.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Composite Index .GSPTSE ended up 294.06 points, or 0.9%, at 34,346.29, marking the highest closing level since March 2 when the index posted a record high.

For the week, the index added 1.9%. It was the fourth straight weekly gain.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the Strait of Hormuz was open following a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, while U.S. President Donald Trump said talks could take place this weekend and he believed a deal to end the Iran war would come "soon".

"As soon as the headline came, the algorithms kicked in, and all of a sudden, it's a sell-the-oil-and-buy-everything-else phenomenon," said Allan Small, senior investment advisor of the Allan Small Financial Group with iA Private Wealth.

Domestic data was downbeat. Housing starts posted a surprise decline in March, falling 6% from the previous month.

The materials group .GSPTTMT, which includes metal mining shares, rose 2.2% as declines for the U.S. dollar .DXY boosted the price of gold XAU=.

Consumer discretionary .GSPTTCD was up 2.8%, with shares of auto parts supplier Magna International Inc MG.TO jumping 6.8%.

Air Canada AC.TO said it will trim daily flights to New York from 38 to 34, starting in June, as higher fuel prices lead North American carriers to cut capacity on less profitable routes. The airline's shares were up 1.5%.

Technology .SPTTTK added 1.9% and heavily weighted financials  .SPTTFS ended 1.5% higher.

Just two of 10 major sectors ended lower, including energy .SPTTEN. It lost 4.8% as the price of oil CLc1 settled 11.45% lower at $83.85 a barrel.

 (Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Ananda and Nia Williams)

 ((fergal.smith@thomsonreuters.com; +1 647 480 7446))