Canada’s main stock index edged higher as Canadians headed to the polls on Monday, with investors betting that the market will benefit from receiving greater clarity on the nation’s economic policies after the outcome of the vote is known.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended up 88.08 points, or 0.4%, at 24,798.59, closing above its 2024 year-end level for the first time since April 2 amid recent hopes of a cooling in the global trade war.
The ruling Liberal Party is expected to win the most seats in a general election but the main opposition Conservative Party has closed the gap in recent days, the latest polls show.
Regardless who wins, Canada stands to elect a more business-friendly government than has been the case in recent years after both main parties proposed sweeping changes to boost economic growth.
The “Canadian economy wants certainty,” said Shiraz Ahmed, senior portfolio manager and founder of Sartorial Wealth, Raymond James. “With the lingering uncertainty, regardless of what candidate wins, we will have that party’s policies, which will give some economic certainty from a domestic policy standpoint.”
Financials, technology and energy all gained 0.4%.
Energy was up even as the price of oil settled 1.5% lower at US$62.05 a barrel on lingering demand concerns.
The price of gold increased 1%, supportive of metal mining shares. The materials group ended 0.3% higher.
Industrials declined 0.5% as railroad shares lost ground and healthcare ended 1.4% lower.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 closed a choppy session nearly unchanged, weighed down by megacaps as investors awaited several catalysts including key economic data and earnings from some of the largest U.S. companies.
Megacaps Nvidia, off 2.1%, and Amazon, down 0.7%, were the primary drags on the benchmark S&P 500 index and also kept the Nasdaq in negative territory.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that China’s Huawei Technologies was preparing to test its artificial-intelligence processor, which it hopes can replace some of Nvidia’s higher-end products.
Of the so-called Magnificent Seven heavyweight companies, Amazon is scheduled to report quarterly results later this week, along with Apple, Meta Platforms and Microsoft. Apple, up 0.4%, and Meta up 0.5%, both helped counter the declines in Nvidia and Amazon.
In all, 180 S&P 500 components are set to report earnings this week, and investors are likely to closely monitor how U.S. President Donald Trump’s new tariffs could affect future profits.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 114.09 points, or 0.28%, to 40,227.59, the S&P 500 gained 3.54 points, or 0.06%, to 5,528.75 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 16.81 points, or 0.10%, to 17,366.13.
The slight gain for the S&P 500 marked its fifth straight daily advance, its longest streak of gains since early November.
Though first-quarter earnings from S&P 500 companies are expected to climb 10.9% from a year ago, according to LSEG data, many firms have warned of the uncertainty caused by U.S. trade policy, with some cutting or completely pulling forecasts.
Of the 179 S&P companies that have reported, 78 had negative earnings outlooks and 32 had positive forecasts, for a 2.4 ratio, slightly below the 2.6 in the year-ago period, LSEG data showed.
Investors will also parse important U.S. economic data, including the personal consumption expenditures price index and a flurry of labor market data culminating in the monthly U.S. payrolls report on Friday.
Trading was choppy after stocks opened firmer, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq briefly touching their highest levels since April 2, prior to Trump’s tariff announcement.
Markets have stabilized somewhat in recent weeks on optimism over potential deals between the U.S. and its trading partners, especially China.
However, a lack of clarity on Sino-U.S. negotiations has kept the market sensitive to any developments. The S&P 500 remains about 10% below its February record high as investors look for clues on the extent of any tariff damage.
Among U.S. stocks, a 2.4% gain in Boeing shares helped keep the Dow in positive territory after Bernstein raised the aircraft maker’s stock rating and price target.
Spirit AeroSystems shares advanced 2.6% after Airbus reached a deal to take over some of the company’s plants.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.27-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted three new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 47 new highs and 53 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 17.05 billion shares, compared with the 19.26 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
Reuters, Globe staff