Canadian Stocks Fall As Canadian PM Meets U.S. President

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks pulled back on Tuesday, giving back ground following the recent rally as the focus of investors shifted to a meeting between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington.

After opening a little above yesterday's close, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index turned lower and conceding gains from the previous sessions finally closed at 30.351.72, down by 180.16 points (or 0.59%).

Five of the 11 sectors posted gains today with Energy sector leading the pack.

Carney met Trump at the White House today, five months after his last visit to the Oval Office in May. Other members of Carney's delegation include Canada-U.S. trade minister Dominic LeBlanc, foreign minister Anita Anand and industry minister Melanie Joly.

Describing Carney as a "world class leader," Trump stated that there is "mutual love" but "natural conflict" between the U.S. and Canada. He added that there are more areas where both nations are strong and that is what they now focus on.

Carney's visit, billed as a "working visit" by the prime minister's office, is keenly watched by investors as they anticipate this meeting to get derailed trade relations back on track.

Canada's main opposition leader Pierre Poilievre observed that anything short of a trade deal would be considered a failure.

Starting August 1, Trump imposed 35% tariffs on a vast majority of Canadian exports to the U.S. These exorbitant levies continue to give Canadian businesses a run for their money.

Automobile, aluminum, steel, and lumber industries are facing the full extent of damage, leading to severe job losses. Trump had also hit Canada with sector-specific duties with 50% on metals and 25% on vehicles.

Despite negotiations dragging on between high-level officials of both nations, a tariff framework could not be achieved. No details are available about what contentious issues are preventing an agreement.

Carney has made several concessions ,including ending the Digital Services Tax, withdrawing retaliatory tariffs, and pulling back from decades-long legal disputes over American duties on softwood lumber, etc. However, Trump has been rigid so far on his stance against Canada.

Among the G7 countries, Canada is the only country yet to reach a trade deal with the U.S.

The Canada-United States-Mexico Free Trade Agreement is helping the nation to bypass much of the tariff burden. However, that tripartite agreement is also up for re-negotiation next year and concerns are rising about what Trump may insist upon to renew the pact.

Data released by Statistics Canada today revealed that Canada's trade deficit widened to C$6.3 billion in August. Canada's exports fell 3.0% month-on-month to C$60.6 billion in August. Eight of the 11 product categories posted declines. Imports rose 0.9% month-over-month to C$66.91 billion in August, led by a 24.2% jump in imports of metal and non-metallic mineral products.

Canada's Ivey Purchasing Managers Index - released by Ivey Business School - showed that the index jumped to 59.8 in September from 50.1 in August.

Despite the unemployment rate hitting 7.1%, the highest in nine years, Canadian TSX index has been on a rally in recent days, hitting and breaking record high values consistently.

Traders are expecting breakthrough announcements after today's meeting which would keep up the momentum in the markets.

Major sectors that gained in today's trading were Energy (0.44%), Utilities (0.39%), Communication Services (0.38%), Healthcare (0.31%), and Consumer Staples (0.25%).

Among the individual stocks, Baytex Energy Corp (2.61%), Transalta Corp (2.25%), Rogers Communications Inc (2.42%), Curaleaf Holdings Inc (2.74%), and Loblaw CO (1.36%) were the prominent gainers.

Major sectors that lost in today's trading were Financials (0.46%), Real Estate (0.80%), IT (0.85%), Materials (1.42%), and Consumer Discretionary (1.89%).

Among the individual stocks, Magna International (5.28%), Linamar Corp (3.17%), Iamgold Corp (4.96%), Torex Gold Resources (3.61%), and Blackberry Ltd (2.99%) were the notable losers.

Novagold Res Inc (4.24%), Badger Infrastructure Solutions Ltd (4.24%), and Energy Fuels Inc (3.74%) were among the prime market-moving stocks today.