Cease fire triggers rally

Melisa R. H. Posted On April 8, 2026

The US, Israel and Iran reached a two-week cease fire, which sparked a strong rally in Toronto and particularly New York. The S&P closed 2.51%, the Nasdaq 2.8%, the Dow 2.85% and the TSX 1.15%. Crucially, WTI slid nearly 15% to US$96.40 after it was agreed that the Strait of Hormuz will eventually fully open to oil tanker traffic.

In New York, there were gains nearly across the board, with Intel up 11.42% as the most active stock, Micron 7.72%, Amazon 3.5%, Carnival 11.23%, and Corning 11.16%, though Palantir sank 6.2%. In Toronto, Aritzia jumped 9.52%, Hudbay Minerals 8.23%, Lundin Mining 7.9%, Celestica 7.15% and CNQ down 6.02%. Discretionary, tech, healthcare and materials led nine TSX sectors, while energy saw steep losses. Gold increased US$20 to US$4,727 while silver rose 1.9% to US$74.25. The cease fire prevented Trump from ordering the bombing of civilian targets in Iran, a war crime, but the agreement is also fragile. Moments before the closing bell, there were reports that Iran would not open the Hormuz due to Israel shelling Lebanon.