S&P/TSX composite rises, U.S. stocks fall after Trump’s latest tariff threats

The Bay Street Financial District is shown next to the CN Tower in Toronto on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. Photo by Nathan Denette /THE CANADIAN PRESS

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TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index rose Friday, while U.S. markets dropped after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened a 50 per cent tax on all imports from the European Union as well as a 25 per cent tariff on Apple products unless iPhones are made in the U.S.

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The S&P/TSX composite index was up 25.94 points at 25,879.95.

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In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 256.02 points at 41,603.07. The S&P 500 index was down 39.19 points at 5,802.82, while the Nasdaq composite was down 188.53 points at 18,737.21.

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Friday got off to “a pretty rough open,” said Ryan Crowther, portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton’s ClearBridge Investments, after Trump took to social media in the morning to threaten those new tariffs.

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Apple, in particular, slumped even as U.S. stocks pared their losses through the day while traders weighed whether Trump’s latest threats were just negotiating tactics. Trump later clarified his post to say that all smartphones made abroad would be taxed and the tariffs could be coming as soon as the end of June.

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“Today surfaced some of these tariff anxieties in the market again,” said Crowther.

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“On a given trading day, we can receive information on trade policy that can easily swing market sentiment around one way or the other. Until we have clarity on trade issues, there’s a lot of room for investors to contemplate the broader economic risk and … the risk to the outlook for corporate earnings in the coming quarters.”

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Canadian stocks fared better, thanks to gold, copper and oil prices moving higher, Crowther said.

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He noted uranium producer Cameco Corp. saw its share price rise 10 per cent as Trump signed executive orders Friday with potential positive implications for the nuclear energy industry.

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The orders are intended to quadruple domestic production of nuclear power within the next 25 years.

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To speed up the development of nuclear power, the orders grant the U.S. energy secretary authority to approve advanced reactor designs and projects, taking authority away from the independent safety agency that has regulated the U.S. nuclear industry for five decades.

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“The pure play stocks in Canada that offer exposure to that are … experiencing pretty healthy rallies on that news,” said Crowther.

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The Canadian dollar traded for 72.70 cents US compared with 72.10 cents US on Thursday.

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The July crude oil contract was up 33 cents US at US$61.53 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was up nine cents US at US$3.73 per mmBTU.

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The June gold contract was up US$70.80 at US$3,365.80 an ounce and the July copper contract was up 16 cents US at US$4.84 a pound.

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— With files from The Associated Press

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 23, 2025.

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Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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