(RTTNews) - Extending yesterday's gains, Canadian stocks inched higher on Tuesday after Iran stepped up its attacks on neighbors. Consequently, oil prices jumped, pushing energy-linked stocks and the market higher.
After moving notably higher early in the session, today the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index gave up most of the early gains but traded above the flatline before settling at 32,929.09, up by 52.44 points (or 0.16%).
Six of the 11 sectors posted gains today, with the IT sector leading the pack.
In the ongoing Middle East war, concerns of long-term supply disruption of crude oil have deepened after Iran's fresh attacks on oil production facilities over its neighbors coupled with the ongoing shipping transit blockade through the Strait of Hormuz.
An Iranian drone attack at Shah Gas Field in the United Arab Emirates, set it on fire and led to the suspension of operations by authorities.
Earlier, Majnoon in Iraq and Fujairah in the UAE were severely struck by Iran. Fujairah produces more than 1 million barrels of oil per day under normal circumstances.
The Bank of Canada is set to announce its decision on the overnight rate tomorrow followed by a press release explaining the reason for its decision.
The war, which began on February 28, has catapulted oil prices over the past few weeks.
The jump has kindled concerns of long-term inflation among Canadian firms as well as households.
Amid inflationary pressures owing to the oil price surge, the central bank is expected to keep the interest rates unchanged (at 2.25%).
The Canadian Automobile Association stated that the price of gasoline is nearly 30% higher from the previous month.
Recent data on employment in Canada showed a fall in the first two months of 2026.
Last week's job numbers revealed that the unemployment rate rose to 6.7% in February from 6.5% of the previous month.
Employment fell by 83,900 (or 0.4%) in February following a 25,000 decrease in January, sharply missing forecasts of an increase by 10,000.
Yesterday's data on inflation showed that the year-on-year inflation rate (Consumer Price Index) fell to 1.80% in February from 2.30% of the previous month while month-on-month inflation increased 0.50% in February.
Canada's annual core inflation fell to a 11-month low of 2.30% in February from 2.60% in January while on a month-on-month basis, it rose 0.40% from the previous month.
On the economic front, it was an uneventful day for Canada with no significant economic releases.
The focus of investors is now hovering around the renegotiation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (a free-trade pact) that allows Canadian exporters to circumvent the tariff imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The tripartite trade deal, which took effect in July 2020, is up for renewal in a few months.
Trump had already hinted at withdrawing from the pact and reports indicate that the U.S. may pull out if Trump does not get a deal leaning in favor of the U.S.
In the U.S. today, data released by the Automatic Data Processing Research Institute revealed private employers added an average of 9,000 jobs per week in the four weeks ending February 28. Of note, it is a decline from the revised 14,750 jobs per week of the prior period.
The U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting started today and is set to conclude tomorrow, when it will announce its interest rate decision. The Fed too is likely to hold the lending rates.
Major sectors that gained in today's trading were IT (1.76%), Energy (1.05%), Financials (0.59%), Communication Services (0.52%), and Real Estate (0.41%).
Among the individual stocks, Bitfarms Ltd (4.85%), Celestica Inc (4.37%), Open Text Corporation (3.37%), International Petroleum Corporation (3.97%), and Athabasca Oil Corp (3.63%) were the prominent gainers.
Major sectors that lost in today's trading were Consumer Staples (0.95%), Materials (0.51%), Consumer Discretionary (0.50%), Industrials (0.48%), and Utilities (0.26%).
Among the individual stocks, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc (1.53%), Weston George (1.33%), G Mining Ventures Corp (6.36%), Oceanagold Corporation (5.34%), and Aritzia Inc (2.22%) were the notable losers.
Goeasy Ltd (13.14%), Ats Corporation (6.19%), and Nfi Group Inc (5.71%) were among the prime market-moving stocks today.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
