Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look back at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list ...
TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index gained more than 250 points on Friday as trade talks between Canada and the U.S. continued, while markets south of the border also gained ground.
Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Canada’s chief negotiator Janice Charette are meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington as the clock ticks down on the latest tariff deadline.
“The market reaction today definitely suggests investors are treating a deal as a risk reduction, rather than an economic boom,” said Brianne Gardner, senior wealth manager of Velocity Investment Partners at Raymond James Ltd.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threat on $28 billion worth of Canadian goods is set to take effect just after midnight, unless officials are able to finalize a trade agreement.
“If we get an agreement tonight, I wouldn’t characterize it as a return to free trade,” Gardner said.
“It would be more like establishing the new rules of the road going forward. Canadian businesses would still face higher costs, but at least they could start making investment decisions again.”
The agreement is expected to address U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum, lumber and autos. It’s also expected to address some U.S. concerns about limited access to Canada’s dairy market, as well as Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on autos and provincial bans on U.S. alcohol imports.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 254.81 points at 36,620.23. The basic materials sector led the gains.
“Gold is rallying today, which is also pushing those mining shares higher, and still the materials sector represents roughly around 15 per cent of the TSX,” Gardner said.
The December gold contract was up US$109.20 at US$4,680.60 an ounce.
Meanwhile, Canada’s big banks are set to report their third-quarter results next week.
“This could actually be one of the most important weeks for the quarter for the Canadian markets,” Gardner said.
“The banks have rallied substantially already, anywhere between 20 to 35 per cent year-to-date depending on the bank. Investors are going to want to see more than just earnings per share beat.”
BMO Financial Group and Scotiabank report on Tuesday, followed by National Bank on Wednesday. CIBC, Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank report their results on Thursday.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 517.80 points at 53,277.01. The S&P 500 index was up 33.21 points at 7,674.37, while the Nasdaq composite was up 113.29 points at 26,180.46.
U.S. stocks rose Friday and trimmed their losses from a shaky week. That was even though the bond market, which has been the centre of Wall Street’s action, remained jumpy and continued to add pressure.
After soaring through the summer and then hesitating following this week’s surprise move by the U.S. Treasury Department to repurchase more U.S. government bonds, yields climbed further on Friday.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.73 per cent from 4.69 per cent late Thursday. It’s back above its level from before the U.S. Treasury market made its move, which analysts said at the time would likely have only a temporary effect.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.67 cents US compared with 72.54 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was up 23 cents US at US$87.06 per barrel.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2026.
—With files from The Associated Press
Companies in this story: (TSX: GSPTSE, TSX: CADUSD)
Daniel Johnson, The Canadian Press
