TSX Ends 1.6% Down As Trade War Fears Rise

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended sharply lower on Friday, weighed down by lukewarm GDP data and concerns about inflation and impending U.S. tariffs.

Trade tensions are escalating with U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of a 25% tariff on autos, and the Canadian Prime Minister Carney warning of retaliatory measures.

Technology, industrials, consumer discretionary and healthcare stocks were among the major losers. The indexes tracking the performances of these sectors dropped by 2.2 to 2.98%.

Materials, financials and energy stocks also traded weak.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 401.91 points or 1.6% at 24,759.15, almost near the day's low. The index shed about 0.8% in the week.

Aya Gold & Silver tanked nearly 16% on weak results. The company reported fourth-quarter net loss of US$30.0 million, or US$0.23 per share, compared with net income of US$3.6 million, or US$0.03 per share, recorded in the year-ago quarter.

B2Gold Corp closed down 8.6%, while Ero Copper, TFI International, Restaurant Brands International, Ivanhoe Mines, Shopify, First Quantum Minerals, MAG Silver, Teck Resources, MDA Space, Open Text Corporation, BRP Inc., Aritzia and Enghouse Systems ended lower by 4 to 7%.

Cargojet, HudBay Minerals, Bausch Health Companies, Manulife Financial, Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Onex Corporation, Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova Scotia, Linamar Corporation, TerraVest Industries, Air Canada, Canadian Pacific Kansas and Precision Drilling lost 3 to 4%.

Jamieson Wellness climbed up 3.7%. Emera Inc., Atco, Oceanagold, Great-West Lifeco, Canadian Utilities, Fortis Inc., Dollarama and Gibson Energy gained 1 to 2%.

Data from Statistics Canada said the Canadian GDP was essentially unchanged from the previous month in February of 2025, according to a flash estimate. In turn, the GDP expanded by 0.4% from the previous month in January, extending momentum in December and better than flash estimates of 0.3%.

Canada's finance department said Canada's government budget recorded a deficit of C$ 5.13 billion in January 2025, widening from a C$ 2.06 billion deficit in January 2024.