Relaxed U.S. tariffs on electronics help drive market gains in U.S., Canada

The TSX ticker on the outside of the TMX Group headquarters in the financial district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Tuesday, Aug. 6. 2024. Canadian stocks tumbled at the open, then pared those losses, as traders caught up after the Toronto Stock Exchange and other venues were closed for a public holiday during Monday’s global selloff. Photographer: Cole Burston/Bloomberg (Cole Burston/Bloomberg)

News of relaxed U.S. tariffs on smartphones and other electronics helped propel gains on Canadian and U.S. stock markets on Monday after last week’s dizzying ups and downs.

“The tariff news continues to really dominate headlines and trading,” said Brianne Gardner, senior wealth manager of Velocity Investment Partners at Raymond James Ltd.

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U.S. President Donald Trump has temporarily exempted electronics like smartphones and computers from some tariffs, which could ultimately more than double prices for U.S. consumers on products coming from China.

“We saw some rallying out of that,” Gardner said.

It’s not known how long the relief will last, but on Monday big tech names like Apple and Dell saw gains on Wall Street.

In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index closed up 278.73 points to 23,866.53 with telecom and base metals subsectors leading the way.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 312.08 points at 40,524.79. The S&P 500 index was up 42.61 points at 5,405.97, while the Nasdaq composite was up 107.03 points at 16,831.48.

Also lifting markets were glimmers of good news last week in the form of better-than-expected employment, Producer Price Index and inflation data, Gardner said.

“To us, that’s showing the market has something to feel good about.”

A Bank of Canada interest rate decision is set for Wednesday, and Gardner said many are expecting there will be a halt in cuts even as signs of economic weakness emerge.

“We’ve seen 2.25 per cent of cuts since June of last year, but is that going to be enough if these tariffs do come in and we do start to see things get even weaker? Can we brace for that?”

Gardner said the volatility presents buying opportunities for investors who have cash to spend, and that there are signs people are piling into “recession-proof” defensive sectors like utilities and consumer staples.

“That’s a lot of how we’re positioning clients’ portfolios — looking at the underlying profitability of the companies that we’re invested in. Are those profits still there and those earnings still going to be there over the next six, 12 months?”

The Canadian dollar closed at 72.04 cents US compared with 71.99 cents US on Friday.

The May crude oil contract settled up three cents US to US$61.53 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was down 20 cents US at US$3.33 per mmBTU.

The June gold contract was down US$18.30 at US$3,226.30 an ounce and the May copper contract was up 10 cents US at US$4.63 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 14, 2025.