Summary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks edged higher on Thursday as signals of Chinese intervention for the resolution to the Strait of Hormuz crisis emerge in the backdrop of a U.S.-China summit while the strait remains blocked for oil and energy transit. After opening a little above yesterday's close, today the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index gave ground initially but regained momentum to trade positive throughout the rest of the session before settling at 34,268.27, up by 226.84 points (or 0.67%). Ten of the 11 sectors posted gains today, with the IT sector leading the pack. The war between the U.S. and Iran that began on February 28, though now under a ceasefire, has not ended as efforts to secure a peace deal have yielded no productive results so far. The continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran and a blockade on shipping traffic to Iranian ports enforced by the U.S. Navy have brought down Arabian oil trade to a near-complete halt. Last week, the U.S. offered a proposal to Iran to resolve the disputes to which Iran sent back a counter-proposal. Calling Iran's plan "totally unacceptable," U.S. President Donald Trump accused Iran of playing games. While CNN reported that Trump was planning to recommence attacks on Iran, Iran affirmed that it was prepared to face "any U.S. aggression." Trump is now in China with a team of high-level business leaders to expand U.S.-China trade ties. A White House readout on the meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that both leaders agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must be free for all nations. U.S. Vice President JD Vance stated that negotiations between the U.S. and Iran are progressing well. In an interview with Fox News, Trump revealed that Xi would like to see a deal made and has offered "any help whatsoever" to end the Iran conflict. Iran's news agencies reported that Iran permitted nearly 30 ships to pass through the strait. Among these, a few Chinese vessels were allowed based on an understanding reached between China and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Iran is a longstanding ally of China. China purchases nearly 90% of Iran's oil exports, providing tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue for Iran. In 2021, both nations signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement which covered economic, security, and technological cooperation. With the efforts by Pakistan and Iran's regional neighbors failing to secure a peace deal, investors are now anticipating China's active role to resolve the crisis and hasten up the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Aside from the Iran war, the prevailing uncertainty over the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement for free trade, which is up for renewal, is increasing investors' concerns in Canada. Meanwhile, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME), the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) of the U.S., and the Confederation of Industrial Chambers of Mexico (CONCAMIN) are joining at a conference in Washington to send a message for preserving the CUSMA pact. Data from Statistics Canada today revealed that Canada's wholesale trade rose 1.90% month over month to C$89.0 billion in March, above forecasts of a 1.30% increase. Major sectors that gained in today's trading were IT (1.96%), Financials (1.62%), Communication Services (1.35%), Consumer Staples (1.17%), and Energy (1.16%). Among the individual stocks, Celestica Inc (2.70%), Constellation Software Inc (2.66%), Shopify Inc (2.28%), Brookfield Corporation (5.41%), and Quebecor Inc (7.80%) were the prominent gainers. Materials (1.82%) was the only one sector that lost in today's trading. Among the individual stocks, Lithium Americas Corp (5.88%), First Majestic Silver Corp (5.38%), Seabridge Gold Inc (5.21%), Silvercorp Metals Inc (4.79%), and Discovery Silver Corp (4.46%) were the notable losers. Tfi International (6.69%) and Boyd Group Services Inc (6.37%) 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.