Canadian Stocks Rise Sharply Amid Increases By Commodities Prices

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks climbed sharply on Friday as increases in the price of precious metals and oil pushed up commodity-linked stocks that aided the rise in the index.

After opening above yesterday's close, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index traded firmly positive to reach a new record intra-day high of 31,865.79, and then gave ground before settling at 31,755.82, up by 314.97 points (or 1.00%).

Seven of the 11 sectors posted gains today, with the IT sector leading the pack.

Data released by Statistics Canada today revealed that on a month-on-month basis, new housing prices in Canada were unchanged in November.

Preliminary estimates showed that retail sales jumped 1.2% month-over-month in November (the biggest gain in five months) rebounding from a 0.2% fall in October.

On an year-on-year basis, retail sales rose by 2% in October.

Prime Minister Mark Carney had stated that formal discussions with the U.S. to review the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement will begin in January. Under CUSMA, Canada is able to export a majority of goods to the U.S. without suffering any tariffs.

The PM stated that Internal Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be meeting U.S. counterparts to hear the demands from their side.

Since August, Canadian exports to the U.S. undergo a 35% tariff imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump when he assumed office this year for the second time.

In October, Trump halted all trade talks with Canada, irked by an anti-tariff advertisement created by the Ontario government.

On Wednesday, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer outlined that the U.S. wants Canada to open the dairy market to U.S. farmers and amend the online streaming law.

The U.S. also wants Canadian provinces to revoke the ban on selling American liquor. Canada buys around $1.1 billion worth of U.S. dairy products.

Despite Canada and Mexico needing the CUSMA pact, Trump's recent remarks hinting that the U.S. may walk out of the deal has increased economic uncertainty.

Recently, the Bank of Canada held its benchmark policy rate steady at 2.25%, following cuts at the last two meetings.

Analysts predict that the central bank may not lower the rates any further and some even state that the next move would be a hike in rates during the second half of 2026.

Major sectors that gained in today's trading were IT (2.65%), Materials (2.42%), Energy (1.01%), Financials (0.70%), and Consumer Discretionary (0.63%).

Among the individual stocks, Bitfarms Ltd (11.86%), Celestica Inc (9.21%), Energy Fuels Inc (8.10%), Nexgen Energy Ltd (7.51%), New Gold Inc (6.80%), Ivanhoe Mines Ltd (5.98%), Kelt Exploration Ltd (4.26%), and Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd (2.69%) were the notable gainers.

Major sectors that lost in today's trading were Utilities (0.37%), Real Estate (0.52%), Consumer Staples (0.90%), and Healthcare (1.31%).

Among the individual stocks, Curaleaf Holdings Inc (6.12%), Metro Inc (1.77%), Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust (1.87%), Algonquin Power and Utilities Corp (1.27%), and Superior Plus Corp (1.12%) were the notable losers.