Trump tariff war triggers sell-off

Toronto and New York markets tumbled as the Trump tariffs began on Tuesday. What the Wall Street Journal and outgoing Prime Minister Trudeau dubbed “the dumbest trade war in history” triggered a sharp sell-off for much of the day. As expected, Ottawa retaliated with its own sweeping tariffs, while Mexico vowed to issue its own shortly. BMO warns that prolonged tariffs could tip Canada into a (mild) recession. At higher-than-normal volumes, the TSX closed -1.72% with all but three sectors (including health care) in the red. Financials, tech and industrials suffered the deepest losses.
Among the most active names were Suncor at -3.26% and Manulife -4.84%. Also notable were Aritzia at -6.11%, Royal Bank -3.86% and Pet Valu leaping 11.19%. WTI crude held around US$68.30, while gold added US$22 to US$2,914.
On Wall Street, the S&P finished the choppy session -1.22%, the Dow -1.55% (or shedding 670 points), and the Nasdaq -0.35%. The Nasdaq dipped into correction territory then briefly went positive for the day. Most active were Nvidia which swung from negative to close 1.69% higher, Intel -6.2%, Tesla -4.43%, Bank of America -6.34% and Best Buy -13.3%. The U.S. 10-year yield edged up to 4.24% while Bitcoin regained more than US$2,000 to US$87,500. The VIX hit the mid-20s for the session.
🛢 Suncor Energy Inc (SU-T) -3.26%
🏛 Manulife Financial (MFC-T) -4.84%
👗 Aritzia Inc. (ATZ-T) -6.11%
🏛 Royal Bank (RY-T) -3.86%
🛍 Pet Valu Holdings (PET-T) +11.19%
💾 NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA-Q) +1.69%
💾 Intel (INTC-Q) -6.2%
🚗 Tesla Inc (TSLA-Q) -4.42%
🏛 Bank of America (BAC-N) -6.34%
🛒 Best Buy Company Inc (BBY-N) -13.3%