S&P/TSX composite rises, U.S. stock markets mixed ahead of long weekend

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index posted modest gains Thursday ahead of the Easter long weekend, led by strength in energy stocks as the price of oil rose, while U.S. markets were mixed. 

Without major tariff news to react to, markets headed into the long weekend with a small bounceback, though some large names dragged, said John Zechner, chairman and lead equity manager at J. Zechner Associates.

“It’s just positioning, I think, ahead of the weekend,” he said. 

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 86.02 points at 24,192.81.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 527.16 points at 39,142.23. The S&P 500 index was up seven points at 5,282.70, while the Nasdaq composite was down 20.71 points at 16,286.45.

Three-quarters of the stocks on the S&P 500 were up, but the Dow was dragged lower by UnitedHealth Group, which plunged 22.4 per cent after its earnings report disappointed. 

The Nasdaq, meanwhile, zigzagged between gains and losses before ending the day in the red, pulled lower by another drop for artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia amid concerns over what the U.S.’ trade war with China could do to its business. 

Markets have been quite volatile in recent weeks, spiking and falling by the day and even by the hour on every update to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.

That volatility is expected to continue, said Zechner. 

“What markets hate most is uncertainty, and they’re just getting it in spades,” he said. 

Tech stocks have been particularly volatile because they’re more sensitive than some other sectors to economic shifts, said Zechner. Experts have been warning the tariffs will cause inflation and economic weakness. 

As U.S. earnings season gets underway, it’s going to be more about what companies have to say about the coming months than what they earned in the preceding quarter, said Zechner.

“Everything is in the rear-view mirror,” he said. 

Trump took aim at Fed chairman Jerome Powell again on Thursday, saying, “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”

But the headline didn’t get as much of a reaction as the Powell news the day before, noted Zechner. Markets deepened their losses Wednesday after Powell said the Fed is waiting to see how the economy reacts to tariffs before making a move on interest rates.

The Bank of Canada also hit pause on its key rate Wednesday after a succession of cuts, with a similar message. 

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.17 cents US compared with 71.99 cents US on Wednesday.

The June crude oil contract was up US$2.18 at US$64.01 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was down two cents US at US$3.23 per mmBTU.

The June gold contract was down US$18 at US$3,328.40 an ounce and the May copper contract was up five cents US at US$4.74 a pound.

— With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2025.

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