TSX Sprints Amid Tariff Concerns

Canada's main stock index inched up on Wednesday, buoyed by real estate shares, with investors on the lookout for trade and tariff updates.The TSX Composite Index leaped 81.13 points to reach Wednesday afternoon at 26,984.76The Canadian dollar was down 0.15 cents at 73.01 cents U.S. Meanwhile, Nissan Motor halted production of three models for Canada at its Tennessee and Mississippi plants amid mutual tariffs imposed by the U.S. and Canada on auto exports.The Globe and Mail reported that asset manager Blackstone and U.S. equity funds were in talks to buy H&R assets with an activist investor pressuring the real estate investment trust to sell. Units of H&R captured 62 cents, or 5.2%, to $12.61.Miner Ero Copper withered $1.72, or 8%, to $19.82, and Capstone Copper declined 17 cents, or 2%, to $8.20.EQB rose $2.05, or 2%, to $104.77 after the lender said former finance head Chadwick Westlake will return as its CEO, just months after he left to become the chief financial officer at software firm OpenText. Shares of OpenText fell $1.82, or 4.4%, to $39.47. ON BAYSTREET The TSX Venture Exchange inched up 2.97 points to pause for lunch Wednesday at 754.88 All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were ahead, with gold improving 1%, materials up 0.7%, and real-estate jumping 0.6%. The two laggards proved to be telecoms, down 0.8%, and consumer staples, fading 0.2%. ON WALLSTREET The S&P 500 rose Wednesday, led by tech, as Nvidia reached a major milestone and investors monitored the latest tariff updates from President Donald Trump.The Dow Jones Industrials rebounded 66.08 points to 44,306.84.The much-broader index revived 16.66 points to 6,242.18.The NASDAQ Composite barreled ahead 104.68 points, or 1%, to 20,523.14.Nvidia shares traded $3.26, or 2%, higher, to $163.26, making it the first company to reach a market capitalization of $4 trillion. Other major tech names also rose, including Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Alphabet.On Wednesday, Trump sent letters dictating new U.S. tariff rates on goods from at least six more countries, including the Philippines and Iraq. This comes after Trump posted letters setting new duties earlier this week to the leaders of 14 other countries, including South Korea and Japan.Those moves came as traders seemingly shrugged off the latest tariff-related headlines of the week.In addition to watching further tariff policy developments on Wednesday, traders will be monitoring the release of the Federal Open Market Committee’s minutes from its last meeting.Prices for the 10-year treasury gained, raising yields to 4.37% from Tuesday’s 4.41%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Oil prices recovered 20 cents to $68.53 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices were unchanged at $3,316.90 U.S. an ounce.