S&P/TSX composite cruises to record close on rise in energy stocks

Hamilton Spectator

2 days ago

Canada's main stock index rode energy stocks to a record close Monday, despite a cautious day that followed a month of major gains and a weekend checkered with angst over higher steel tariffs and developments in Ukraine and the Middle East.
'There was actually a fair bit of nervousness coming into today on the weekend, with some of the Trump tariff headlines that came out after the close on Friday and geopolitical tensions again with Russia and Ukraine,' said Greg Taylor, chief investment officer at PenderFund Capital Management.
But the S&P/TSX composite index climbed 213.91 points to 26,388.96, its highest level ever at day's end.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average overcame an initial drop to rise 35.41 points to 42,305.48. The S&P 500 index inched up 24.25 points to 5,935.94, while the Nasdaq composite increased 128.85 points to 19,242.61.
'In Canada it's more of a cautious tone, and I think the fact that we're higher — led by the commodities — is probably a decent positive, especially after such a big move that we had in markets in May,' Taylor said.
The TSX posted its largest monthly gain since November in May, rising 5.56 per cent.
That trajectory continued Monday, driven by gold and oil shares.
Energy stocks flowed upward after OPEC-plus countries announced Saturday they would ramp up oil production less than some had feared.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian attacks in Russia over the weekend raised uncertainty about the flow of oil and gas around the world, as did Iran's criticism of a report that revealed its growing stockpiles of enriched uranium.
'We're also seeing a bit of concern with the wildfires out west and whether that's going to take even more supply off the board,' Taylor said, pointing to blazes raging across the Prairies that have forced producers to remove non-essential staff and shut output.
On the metals front, Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd., Barrick Mining Corp. and Kinross Gold Corp. placed among the mining outfits whose shares rose by between 5.2 and 6.3 per cent on Monday.
Taylor said geopolitical tension and a weaker U.S. dollar help explain their popularity, with the price of gold often seen as an inverse barometer of economic anxiety.
After markets closed Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he would double the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50 per cent this Wednesday. But the TSX industrials index ticked down only slightly.
Taylor said markets now take the president's pronouncements with a grain of another commodity: salt.
'As much as no one likes to say it out loud, Trump has a history of walking back on a lot of these announcements that just seem to be thrown out there as trial balloons as much as anything else,' Taylor said.
'This might actually not come to pass.'
This week, investors will be watching whether the Bank of Canada will cut interest rates on Wednesday.
Market watchers will also be on the lookout for national employment figures slated to drop on June 6.
'There has been a bit of a concern around the health of the economy and whether we are going to start to see a slowdown and on the verge of looking at a recession, and that payroll number is probably going to be a good indicator,' Taylor said.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.96 cents US compared with 72.68 cents US on Friday.
The July crude oil contract was up US$1.73 at US$62.52 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was up 24 cents US at US$3.69 per mmBTU.
The August gold contract was up US$81.80 at US$3,397.20 an ounce and the July copper contract was up 18 cents US at US$4.86 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX: GSPTSE, TSX: CADUSD)
— With files from The Associated Press