S&P/TSX composite rises while U.S. markets end mixed; oil price falls

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index rose on Tuesday as U.S. markets held steadier while investors awaited the next signal on when the U.S.-Iran war may end.

Allan Small, senior investment adviser at iA Private Wealth, said markets have been very volatile with geopolitics taking centre stage. 

“Every headline that comes out is moving the markets, moving the price of oil,” he said. 

“If you’re an investor, obviously you can’t move on any of this stuff, you’ve got to continue to stay the course, buy good quality stuff.” 

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 81.33 points at 33,270.65.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.29 points at 47,706.51. The S&P 500 index was down 14.51 points at 6,781.48, while the Nasdaq composite was up 1.16 points at 22,697.10.

The April crude oil contract was down US$11.32 at US$83.45 per barrel.

Oil prices have come off their recent spike after U.S. President Donald Trump told CBS News he thinks “the war is very complete, pretty much.” That raised hopes that the war may end relatively soon, which could allow oil to flow freely again from the Middle East to customers around the world.

But Trump’s comments later Monday, after the U.S. stock market finished trading, were not as clear. And a spokesperson for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said that “Iran will determine when the war ends.” Iran launched new attacks Tuesday at Israel and Gulf Arab countries, keeping pressure on the Middle East in a war started by Israel and the United States.

One point where Trump remained clear was his desire to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. The war has effectively blocked the waterway off Iran’s coast, where a fifth of the world’s oil sails on a typical day. That’s been a central reason for extreme swings in oil prices recently, which have dominated other financial markets and raised worries about the global economy.

The U.S. stock market has a history of bouncing back relatively quickly from military conflicts, as long as oil prices don’t stay too high for too long. Uncertainty about whether that may happen this time around has led to stunning swings up and down for markets worldwide, often hour-to-hour.

If oil prices do stay high for long, household budgets already stretched by high inflation could break under the pressure. Companies would see their own bills jump for fuel and to stock items on store shelves or in their data warehouses.

The Canadian dollar traded for 73.71 cents US compared with 73.67 cents US on Monday. 

In the Canadian stock market, gains in the basic materials sector helped to lift the TSX higher. 

“Whenever you have chaos, your price of gold’s going up,” Small said. 

The April gold contract was up US$138.40 at US$5,242.10 an ounce.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2026.

— With files from The Associated Press.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)