TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index finished in negative territory, while U.S. markets were also lower as investors continue to weigh the effect of ongoing Canada-U.S. trade tensions. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 143.98 points at 36,813.65. “While the trade headlines could create volatility, we think investors should remain focused on earnings (and) on fundamentals. We’re going to get some GDP numbers for the Canadian economy later this week and earnings continue to move higher,” said Angelo Kourkafas, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones. On Friday, Statistics Canada will report figures for gross domestic product for June and the second quarter as a whole. U.S. President Donald Trump spoke Wednesday about Canadian tariffs to justify his own duties the day after the federal government unveiled its plans to retaliate. Trade tensions between Canada and the U.S. have escalated after Trump imposed 50 per cent tariffs on about $28 billion worth of Canadian products over the weekend as trade talks collapsed. On Tuesday, the federal government announced a suite of dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs on American goods set to take effect Sept. 8, along with a new $7.5 billion tariff-relief package for affected businesses and workers. “There is no winner out of a trade war, especially thinking about the potential economic and sector implications for both countries,” Kourkafas said. “We think for Canada the trade war escalation poses a meaningful but manageable headwind for the economy and of course certain industries that are heavily targeted are going to see a more outsized impact.” Meanwhile, Canada’s largest banks continued to report results for the third quarter. “Results appear to be coming in strong, but valuations are a bit elevated for the sector, so that’s something to keep in mind. The results reinforce the economic resilience that we see in the economy,” Kourkafas said. National Bank shares dipped four per cent after it reported earnings for the period on Wednesday. BMO Financial Group and Scotiabank reported on Tuesday, with executives at all three companies commenting on recent escalations in the Canada-U.S. trade war. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 113.52 points at 53,463.88. The S&P 500 index was down 1.58 points at 7,675.70, while the Nasdaq composite was down 21.10 points at 26,130.20. U.S. stocks made relatively few big moves ahead of the latest earnings report from the market’s most influential company, Nvidia, which arrived after trading ended for the day. Expectations were high once again for the chip giant, whose tremendous growth in profit because of the artificial-intelligence boom has made it the largest stock by value in the U.S. market. After soaring for years, AI stocks have become shakier on worries that their prices shot too high and that demand for chips may fizzle out if AI does not produce as much profit as hoped. The Canadian dollar traded for 72.07 cents US compared with 72.26 cents US on Tuesday. The October crude oil contract was down 13 cents US at US$82.23 per barrel. The December gold contract was down US$41.20 at US$4,653.30 an ounce. --- Daniel Johnson, The Canadian Press With files from The Associated Press This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 26, 2026.
