Investing.com – Canada’s commodities-heavy main stock index gained Monday, as analysts gauged a slide in and prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite index gains 260 or 0.82% at 32,183.88
On Friday index slumped by 3.3% to 31,923.52, marking the worst one-day fall for the index since last April. At that time, the prospect of sweeping U.S. tariffs was weighing on the average.
The slip brought the first trading month of the year to a downbeat close. Still, for January as a whole, the index notched a 0.7% gain, a ninth straight monthly climb.
Beyond metals, shares of retreated after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to decertify its business jets and slap a 50% tariff on Canadian-made aircraft unless regulators in Ottawa certify planes made by American group Gulfstream.
U.S. stocks gain
U.S. stocks gain shaking off gold and silver selloff.
The was up 1.05%, the S&P 500 index had gained 0.57%, and the had added 0.56%.
The major benchmarks suffered a losing session at the end of last week after the nomination by President Donald Trump of Kevin Warsh as his pick for Federal Reserve chairman. If confirmed, Warsh would replace Jerome Powell in May.
Gold, silver selloff hits sentiment
Sentiment has been hard hit by a steep decline in gold and silver prices, extending Friday’s historic tumble, with the precious metals hit by a combination of a firmer dollar and mass profit-taking in the wake of a sharp climb in recent months.
After a nearly 10% drop late last week, spot gold has fallen another 1.8%, slipping well below a $5,000 level it had topped only days ago. Silver, until recently a beneficiary of speculative investments and burnished by its practical applications in a range of industries, was also under pressure, after last Friday’s 30% slump that saw the metal log its worst day in decades.
The nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair also weighed heavily as it resulted in a sharp rise in the U.S. dollar. While Warsh — who formerly served as a Fed governor — has aligned with Trump’s calls for sharply lower interest rates, he has also balked at the Fed’s asset buying operations.
“The main macro topic of debate remains the Fed balance sheet, and the potential for Warsh to either shrink it outright or dramatically alter the composition of its assets (by aggressively shifting the duration toward the short-end of the curve), a move that could tighten financial conditions even if the Funds Rate is slashed,” said analysts at Vital Knowledge, in a note.
Economic data later in the week could further influence rate expectations. The keenly-watched U.S. January employment report, due on Friday, is expected to show steady job growth and a stable unemployment rate.
leads earnings parade
The quarterly earnings season is set to continue in full flow this week.
Prior to the opening bell, Walt Disney posted better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter income thanks to ongoing strength at its theme parks business, although a dispute with YouTube weighed on earnings during the quarter.
More than 100 S&P 500 companies are due to report this week, including tech giants Amazon and Alphabet.
’s earnings update last week, which, while showing continued revenue growth, failed to fully reassure markets about the near-term payoff from heavy investment in AI infrastructure.
Amplifying concerns, a Wall Street Journal report over the weekend said that ’s proposed investment of up to $100 billion in OpenAI has stalled after internal concerns were raised at the chipmaker.
Elsewhere, on Sunday outlined its plans to raise fresh funds in 2026 that it will deploy towards building out its AI and cloud infrastructure, amid growing demand for more computing capacity.
The company said it expects to raise between $45 billion and $50 billion of gross cash proceeds in 2026, through a mix of debt and equity financing.
falls as Iran risks recede
Oil prices fell sharply Monday as concerns of a U.S. strike on Iran eased, after President Trump said the Middle East crude producer was “seriously talking” with Washington.
Brent futures dropped 4.4% to $66.26 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 4.6% to $62.19 a barrel.
Crude prices had risen sharply last week as markets priced in a greater risk of supply disruptions from this key region after Trump had repeatedly threatened Iran with military action over a nuclear deal and ongoing protests in the country.
However, risks of a military strike receded after Trump’s weekend comments.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, a group known as OPEC+, left production unchanged during a weekend meeting, as broadly expected.