Canada’s main stock index rose on Wednesday as technology and metal mining shares notched gains, despite confusion around the timing of a deadline for U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods. The S&P 500 ended little changed ahead of quarterly results from Nvidia, whose positive outlook could set the tone for the artificial intelligence sector.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended up 124.38 points, or 0.5%, at 25,328.36, its third straight day of gains.
U.S. President Donald Trump raised hopes for another month-long pause on 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, saying they could take effect on April 2.
A White House official, however, said Trump’s previous March 4 deadline for the import duties remained in effect.
The materials group on the TSX rose 1.6%. Technology added 1.2% and heavily weighted financials ended 0.2% higher.
National Bank of Canada set aside larger-than-expected reserves for bad loans, signaling challenges ahead even as strong income from dealmaking helped deliver a profit beat. The company’s shares ended 5.5% lower.
Energy was a drag in Toronto, falling 0.5%, as the price of oil settled at a two-month low of $68.62 a barrel.
On Wall Street, stocks lost ground in afternoon trading, with investors digesting the latest comments from Trump on tariffs.
After the closing bell, Nvidia’s shares were up about 2% in choppy trading. The AI tech leader forecast first-quarter revenue above market estimates.
Nvidia’s stock ended the regular session up 3.7%, while an index of semiconductors was up 2.1% on the day.
The launch and popularity of low-cost AI models from China’s DeepSeek had rattled the industry in January and raised questions around U.S. companies’ heavy investments in the technology.
Any upbeat comments by Nvidia on demand will elevate stocks of companies investing heavily in AI, said Daniel Morgan, portfolio manager at Synovus Trust in Atlanta. “It’s become the biggest tech report.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 188.04 points, or 0.43%, to 43,433.12, the S&P 500 gained 0.81 points, or 0.01%, at 5,956.06 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 48.88 points, or 0.26%, to 19,075.26.
Gains in technology shares were offset by losses in healthcare, consumer staples and other sectors.
Nvidia’s results came near the end of a stronger-than-expected earnings period for S&P 500 companies.
A Reuters poll showed strategists still expect the S&P 500 to finish 2025 about 9% above current levels, although market volatility will persist.
Since last week, a series of data releases, including Tuesday’s weak consumer sentiment report, have hinted that the world’s largest economy might be stalling despite inflation remaining high, keeping investors on the edge.
Intuit shares rose 12.6% after the TurboTax maker forecast third-quarter revenue above Street estimates.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.13-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 91 new highs and 115 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 2,502 stocks rose and 1,917 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.31-to-1 ratio. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 14.58 billion shares, compared with the 15.4 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
Globe staff, Reuters