Equities in Canada’s largest centre rose on Friday as global risk sentiment improved on hopes of an imminent Middle East deal, with a source telling Reuters that a U.S.-Iran memorandum could be signed as early as Sunday.
The TSX Composite Index hiked 266.39 points, or 1.3%, to close Friday and the week at 34,937.85. On the week, the index improved 168.75 points, or 0.5%.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.05 cents to 71.52 cents U.S.
The deal, if it goes through, could end the over three-month-old war that has pushed energy prices sharply higher and stoked inflation fears after Iran all but closed the Strait of Hormuz for shipping.
Still, investors remain cautious, as Trump has repeatedly suggested in the past that the two sides were nearing a peace agreement, only for no deal to materialize.
Meanwhile, Canada will invest more than $1 billion to promote competition among grocers and food processors, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday, adding that efforts to combat high food inflation would also enhance national security.
Canada has one of the highest food inflation rates among Group of Seven countries.
The materials group, which includes stocks of metal miners, was up leading gains on the TSX, ?with Montage Gold hurtling $1.64, or 11.5%, higher to $15.88, Taseko Mines up 96 cents, or 10.1%, to $10.45.
Avino Gold & Silver captured 59 cents, or 7.1%, to $8.93, while Aya Gold & Silver jumped $1.86, or 7.7%, to $26.17.
Among financials, goeasy Ltd. advanced $2.24, or 5.87, to $40.24, Sprott Inc. took on $4.22, or 2.6%, to $165.85.
In the health-care section, Curaleaf dumped 69 cents to $13.87, while Bausch Health Companies let go of 12 cents, or 1.7%, to $7.08.
In consumer staples, Loblaw Companies dropped $1.07, or 2.5%, to $65.01, while Empire Company shed 65 cents, or 1.3%, to $49.33.
Techs got roughed up, with Constellation Software weakening $134.09, or 4.4%, to $2,924.00, while Kinaxis flopped $3.78, or 2.3%, to $163.53.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reports 183,921 new motor vehicles sold in Canada in April, decreasing 6.0% from April 2025.
In dollar terms, sales decreased 1.7% in April 2026 compared with one year earlier. Over the same period, the number of new trucks sold decreased (-6.4%), while the number of new passenger cars sold experienced a smaller decline (-2.7%).
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 12.66 points, or 1.3%, to 959.23. On the week, the index moved into the green 2.62 points, or 0.27%.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly split, with materials leading the gainers, up 3.2%, gold, headed higher 2.8%, and financials richer 0.9%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by health-care, backing off 1.6%, consumer staples, descending 1.2%, and information technology losing 1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Friday as SpaceX’s opening pop bolstered sentiment, with investors hoping for the arrival of a potential peace deal between the U.S. and Iran.
The Dow Jones Industrials rocketed 353.54 points, or 1.1%, to finish the week at 51,202.29.
The S&P 500 index gathered 37.17 points to 7,431.47.
The NASDAQ hopped 79.18 points to 26,003.24.
Stocks had earlier turned lower, and oil came off it’s lows of the session after President Donald Trump warned in a Truth Social post that Iran “better get their act together” even as a supposed deal was on the table. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were last 1% lower at around $87 a barrel.
Iranian state media reported that the draft version of the Iran-U.S. memorandum of understanding includes a commitment from the U.S. to lift oil sanctions, as well as a commitment from Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
A peace deal could be signed in Switzerland as soon as Sunday, Bloomberg reported Friday.
Friday’s moves come after a rally on Thursday, thanks to a rebound in chip stocks and President Donald Trump signaling that a peace deal with Iran was near.
Elon Musk’s rocket maker debuted on the NASDAQ at $150 per share, trading under the symbol SPCX. That’s above its $135 IPO price. The stock soared more than 20% shortly after it opened and was last trading up 19%.
The run-up in SpaceX boosted investor confidence, leading some on Wall Street to believe other stocks may be undervalued.
The company plans to sell 555.6 million shares, amounting to a $75-billion fundraise that would be the largest initial public offering in history. It’s more than triple the size of Alibaba’s $22-billion offering in 2014, currently the biggest U.S. IPO to date.
If the IPO goes according to plan, it could offer a major catalyst for stocks on Friday. SpaceX perpetual futures suggest that the stock will pop around 30% after its debut.
A number of space-related stocks declined ahead of the IPO. Rocket Lab shares slid 9%, while shares of EchoStar — a company that has a stake in SpaceX — dropped 8%.
The tech trade was mixed on the day, but had been ramping up recently on hopes for a successful debut for SpaceX, which is also an AI appetite proxy because of its xAI unit. Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia were little changed, while others such as Advanced Micro Devices and Alphabet were higher by 4% and 1%, respectively. Broadcom and AI software stock Palantir Technologies were in the red, as were Amazon and Microsoft.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury faded, boosting yields to 4.49% from Thursday’s 4.46%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices backtracked $3.37 to $84.34 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices moved forward $114.40 to $4,228.40 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
