Stock markets reverse course to a positive finish despite looming U.S. shutdown

A person walks past the TMX Market Centre in Toronto, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paige Taylor White

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index and U.S. markets finished in positive territory after reversing course from earlier declines on Tuesday, despite a looming U.S. government shutdown.

John Zechner, chairman at J. Zechner Associates, noted it was the last day of the quarter, when markets tend to “quiet down a little bit” as some investors close out positions.

It also came as a midnight deadline approached for when the U.S. government could shut down because of Washington’s latest political impasse.

“Typically, in the past, government shutdowns are like airline or rail strikes or anything else. They’ve never really proven to be ultimately big market movers outside of the very short term, mostly because they don’t last very long. They get settled, and it’s more fury than fire kind of thing,” Zechner said.

A shutdown of the U.S. government would cause delays for several important reports, including Friday’s jobs data.

• Real-time TSX market updates here

“That could be a bit of a risk for the market if they stop getting data, because then how does the Fed act if they don’t have anything to interpret? If they’re data dependent and they’re not getting data, that’s a problem,” he said.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 50.90 points at 30,022.81.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 81.82 points at 46,397.89. The S&P 500 index was up 27.25 points at 6,688.46, while the Nasdaq composite was up 68.86 points at 22,660.01.

On the trade front, U.S. President Donald Trump issued new tariffs that could add further pressure on Canadian producers of softwood lumber and furniture.

A presidential proclamation on Monday evening set out a 10 per cent duty on imports of softwood timber and lumber, along with a 25 per cent levy on imports of kitchen cabinets and vanities — both parts and completed models — and other upholstered wooden products.

The tariffs are scheduled to take effect Oct. 14.

“It’s a negative, but it’s a negative on a small group. It’s sort of like the steel companies,” Zechner said.

The large lumber producers in the Canadian market are “not a big piece of the pie,” he added.

• S&P 500 market updates here

Despite the tariff announcement, lumber producer stocks were largely flat on the day.

The Canadian dollar traded for 71.82 cents US, according to XE.com, compared with 71.83 cents US on Monday.

The November crude oil contract was down US$1.08 at US$62.37 per barrel.

The December gold contract was up US$18.00 at US$3,873.20 an ounce.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2025.

— With files from The Associated Press and Sammy Hudes in Toronto.