S&P/TSX composite finishes in positive territory, U.S. markets slide as oil rises

A signboard displays the TSX close in Toronto. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Canada’s main stock index finished in positive territory amid losses on U.S. markets as the latest delay in the Iran war failed to spur optimism. 

“Today continues to be another risk off trading day,” said Lesley Marks, chief investment officer of equities at Mackenzie Investments. 

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 73.13 points at 31,960.65. 

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 793.47 points at 45,166.64. The S&P 500 index was down 108.31 points at 6,368.85, while the Nasdaq composite was down 459.72 points at 20,948.36.

Moments after the stock market finished trading on Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump extended a self-imposed deadline to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants to April 6 if it doesn’t fully allow oil tankers to exit the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz to the open ocean.

Oil prices eased immediately afterward in a sign of hope that some normalcy may return to the strait. It was similar to the relief that swept markets Monday, when oil prices slid 10 per cent after Trump announced the first delay to his deadline for clearing the Strait of Hormuz.

But oil prices resumed their climb as trading moved westward Friday from Asia to Europe and back to Wall Street. Despite Trump’s latest announcement, fighting continued in the Middle East. Iran gave no signs of backing down, and Israel threatened to “escalate and expand” its attacks on Iran.

The May crude oil contract was up US$5.16 at US$99.64 per barrel.

“Previously, the market was taking President Trump’s word at face value in the information that he was providing to the market and that gave people comfort that this would not be a prolonged war. And they were willing to look through higher oil prices and the thinking was that this would be temporary,” Marks said. 

She said the market appears now to have shifted toward a different view, with greater concern that it will take longer for the U.S. to achieve its objectives which has created uncertainty around whether the current oil price environment will persist for a longer period of time. 

“That’s going to impact consumers in a number of ways, obviously impacting consumer wallets through higher prices at the pump, but also through consumption of lots of other things that use oil as a raw material input,” Marks said. 

Separately on the TSX, quantum computing firm Xanadu Quantum Technologies made its debut on the TSX Friday. Its shares gained roughly 11 per cent to close at $16.03.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.07 cents US compared with 72.23 cents US on Thursday.

The June gold contract was up US$115.30 at US$4,524.30 an ounce.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2026.   

Daniel Johnson, The Canadian Press. With files from The Associated Press.