TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index gained ground Friday, while U.S. markets were mixed and oil prices fell for the first time in a week. Adam Ludwick, director of asset allocation at NEI Investments, said markets are seeing a bifurcation, with growth remaining resilient while inflation risks have re-emerged. “This is obviously due to the new tariff announcements that were mentioned earlier in the week and obviously higher energy prices. We’ve seen oil come all the way back up to near US$100 a barrel,” he said. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 176.44 points at 35,369.10. Broad gains lifted the TSX on Friday, with energy being the only sector to finish in negative territory. The U.S. is ramping up its global trade war with a fresh round of tariffs on dozens of nations. “The way we evaluate it has been based on the bark and the bite of the U.S.; sometimes this feels like a bit of a negotiation tactic,” Ludwick said. U.S. President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on Monday that would impose a 50 per cent tariff on a range of goods coming from Canada. On Thursday, the Trump administration said it is also hitting dozens of countries, including Canada, with duties citing forced labour in supply chains hours before its previous tariff tool was set to expire. Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom are among the countries getting hit with a 10 per cent tariff, while other nations are seeing a 12.5 per cent levy. “The numbers in the headlines, 50 per cent tariffs on selected goods, they have a sticker shock to them, but I think it’s about five per cent of total trade. The actual impact might be more manageable even if they were to go through,” Ludwick said. Stock markets have also seen some volatility this week due to increasing pressure from a sharp escalation in the U.S. war with Iran. Heavy fighting in the Middle East again threatened to slow the global flow of oil and gas. Many of the buffers in the energy market from earlier in the year, including strategic reserves in the U.S., have also been weakened. The September crude oil contract for North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was down US$2.88 at US$89.31 per barrel. Ludwick said oil prices had a quick jump to around US$100 per barrel from about US$70 per barrel, “so any little pullback from there could be natural.” “But I haven’t seen anything from my perspective that would show that the conflict between the U.S. and Iran is near a deal by any means, so that risk is still out there,” he said. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 235.60 points at 51,947.25. The S&P 500 index was up 3.68 points at 7,411.98, while the Nasdaq composite was down 161.87 points at 24,975.82. The Canadian dollar traded for 70.96 cents US compared with 71.01 cents US on Thursday. The August gold contract was up US$20.60 at US$4,070.80 an ounce. --- Daniel Johnson, The Canadian Press With files from The Associated Press. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2026.
