Canada’s main stock index pushed to a record high Wednesday as the price of oil spiked, while U.S. markets closed down despite trading higher earlier in the day.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended up 97.85 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 26,524.16, eclipsing the record closing high it posted on Friday.
The July crude oil contract was up US$3.17 at US$68.15 per barrel.
Dollarama beat quarterly sales and profit estimates as consumers favored discounted alternatives for household supplies and groceries amid domestic economic uncertainty. The company’s shares jumped 9.8 per cent, while the consumer discretionary sector ended 1.7 per cent higher.
In contrast, the S&P 500 ended lower on Wednesday, with investors spooked by Middle East tensions, while a tame inflation report calmed concerns around tariff-driven price pressures and traders awaited more details on China-U.S. trade talks.
Wall Street erased modest gains after sources said the United States is preparing a partial evacuation of its Iraqi embassy due to heightened security risks in the region. A senior Iranian official said earlier that Tehran will strike U.S. bases in the region if nuclear negotiations fail and conflict arises with the United States.
Amazon lost 2 per cent and Nvidia dipped 0.8 per cent, with both weighing on the S&P 500.
Data showed consumer prices increased only marginally in May, while economists expect inflation to accelerate in the coming months due to the Trump administration’s import tariffs.
Annually, headline inflation stood at 2.4 per cent, lower than the 2.5 per cent rise estimated by economists polled by Reuters.
“There’s still concern about Trump’s tariffs being inflationary but this report was better than expected and it fuels hope that the Federal Reserve will be able to step in with rate cuts later on this year,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth.
Traders project a 70 per cent chance that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by its September policy meeting, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
The S&P 500 declined 0.27 per cent to end the session at 6,022.24 points.
The Nasdaq declined 0.50 per cent to 19,615.88 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended essentially unchanged at 42,865.77 points.
With investors betting the United States will reach trade agreements that reduce Trump’s steep trade barriers, the S&P 500 is now trading just below its February record high.
“The worst-case scenario is probably behind us. There’s a little bit of face-saving for both sides,” said John Praveen, managing director at Paleo Leon in Princeton, New Jersey. “They got an agreement. The question is whether it will be implemented.”
Tesla edged up 0.1 per cent after CEO Elon Musk said he regretted some of the negative social media posts he made last week about Trump as they had gone “too far”.
The U.S. stock market has rallied in recent weeks, recovering from a slump in April sparked by Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.
- Globe staff, wire services