The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) ended March on a positive note. It recovered some earlier losses as energy and financial stocks posted gains. The TSX index rose by 0.6% to close at 24,917.50.
However, it still recorded a monthly decline of 1.9%. Energy stocks led the gains, advancing by 1.2%. This was due to crude oil prices settling 3.1% higher.
Nine of the major sectors on the TSX posted gains, contributing to the overall positive performance by the end of March. In other economic news, factory activity in the eurozone showed early signs of recovery in March.
However, activity weakened across Asia due to slowing global demand, which impacted business sentiment and darkened the overall economic outlook for the region.
Global stocks rose following Wall Street gains. Markets awaited details of U.S. President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. Wall Street futures were lower after the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closed higher yesterday.
TSX futures showed little change after Canada’s main stock market ended the first quarter in positive territory. In Canada, investors are anticipating results from NovaGold Resources Inc. There is still uncertainty regarding the upcoming U.S. tariff announcement.
There is no clear information on which countries will be affected or at what rates.
TSX sees March gains
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.85 percent in morning trading.
Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.65 percent, Germany’s DAX advanced 1 percent, and France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.69 percent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.02 percent higher, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.38 percent. Oil prices increased following Trump’s threats to impose secondary tariffs on Russian crude.
He also threatened to take aggressive actions against Iran. This news was tempered by concerns about a potential trade war’s impact on global growth. Brent futures rose 0.49 percent to US$75.15 a barrel.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures advanced 0.53 percent to US$71.86. These contracts settled at five-week highs yesterday. The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.
In early trading, it ranged from 69.42 US cents to 69.57 US cents. Over the past month, the Canadian dollar has risen approximately 0.13 percent against the greenback. The U.S. dollar index slipped 0.06 percent to 104.15.
The euro slid 0.14 percent to US$1.0801, while the British pound remained flat at US$1.2917. In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.174 percent ahead of the North American opening bell.
