Canadian Stocks Jump As Focus Shifts To Upcoming Jobs Data

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks soared to fresh record highs on Thursday even as investors awaited key jobs data that could influence the Canadian central bank's September interest rate decision. Technology stocks supported today's rally.

After opening nearly at yesterday's close, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index turned lower in the early hours but gained momentum to trade firmly positive and hit an intraday high of 28,924.34 and finally settle at 28,915.89, up by 164.53 points (or 0.57%). This is a new record closing high for the index.

Data released by Statistics Canada today revealed that US imports of goods and services surged by $20.0 billion to $358.8 billion in July (four-month high) amid ongoing tariff uncertainty. Goods imports rose by $18.4 billion, while services imports grew by $1.7 billion.

Canada's exports rose 0.9% to C$61.9 billion in July, matching June's growth and marking a third straight monthly increase. Gains were led by energy products. However, exports of metals and minerals fell 8%.

The country posted a trade deficit of C$4.9 billion in July 2025.

Meanwhile, the S&P Global Canada Composite PMI fell to 48.4 in August from 48.7 in July while the Services PMI Business Activity Index slipped to 48.6 in August from 49.3 in July.

US President Donald Trump hit Canada with 35% tariffs on all its exports into the US which do not fall under Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement. The move has slammed the brakes on the progress of Canadian industries, in particular, steel, aluminum, and automobile.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's team is negotiating with their US counterparts to negotiate a settlement for bilateral trade. To facilitate smooth talks between Canada and US, Carney withdrew most of the retaliatory tariffs against the US, a move received well by the White House.

Even as the ongoing trade uncertainty remains in place, an appeals court in the US decreed Trump's tariff imposition on all countries as "illegal," adding more confusion to the tariff scenario. Though Trump's administration is challenging the verdict in the US Supreme Court, countries like Canada still negotiating a trade deal are unclear of the fallout.

Ahead of the fall season's parliamentary sitting, Carney and his team are discussing plans in the Greater Toronto Area to bring back the economy on track with special emphasis on domestic trade, affordable housing, austerity, and defense spending.

Answering reporters, Carney stated that he spoke with Trump "at length" on Monday evening on a broad spectrum of issues, including trade, geopolitics, and employment. However, he stressed, "don't expect immediate white smoke" indicating that deals are not yet close.

Major sectors that gained in today's trading were IT (2.14%), Real Estate (1.06%), Consumer Discretionary (1.04%), and Financials (0.72%).

Among the individual stocks, Descartes Sys (7.04%), Celestica Inc Sv (4.71%), Shopify Inc (3.77%), Computer Modelling Group Ltd (2.49%), Colliers International Group (3.08%) and Gildan Activewear Inc (4.09%) were the prominent gainers.

Major sectors that lost in today's trading were Healthcare (0.05%), Consumer Staples (0.09%), and Materials (0.33%).

Among the individual stocks, Endeavour Silver Corp (4.49%), First Majestic Silver Corp (4.13%), First Quantum Minerals Ltd (3.07%), Metro Inc (1.36%) and Bausch Health Companies Inc (1.58%) were the notable losers.

Bird Construction Inc (13.19%) and Methanex Corp (5.32%) were among the prime market-moving stocks today.