TORONTO 鈥� sa国际传媒's main stock index gained more than 200 points Friday, led by strength in utilities and base metals, while U.S. stock markets saw a steady rally on the last trading day before Donald Trump is inaugurated as president.
Markets cruised to their best week since Donald Trump was elected U.S. president, despite the uncertainty that lies ahead, said John Zechner, chairman and lead equity manager at J. Zechner Associates.
鈥淭he risk-on trade seems to have come back in the past week,鈥� he said.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 221.72 points at 25,067.92.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 334.70 points at 43,487.83. The S&P 500 index was up 59.32 points at 5,996.66, while the Nasdaq composite was up 291.91 points at 19,630.20.
Equities were spurred on this week by good earnings from the major U.S. banks as well as optimism over some of incoming president Trump鈥檚 promised policies, such as tax cuts, said Zechner.
There was also a promising report on U.S. inflation earlier in the week that helped reignite hopes for interest rate cuts in 2025.
Major tech names led the way higher in the U.S. Friday, including Alphabet, Tesla and Nvidia.
Trump鈥檚 inauguration is on Monday. For U.S. markets, the tariffs he has said he will impose could be an upward pressure on inflation, with the economy already remaining stubbornly resilient and expectations for interest rate cuts in 2025 dwindling.
鈥淯nless the economy really starts to break, inflation rates are not dropping,鈥� said Zechner.
鈥淭here鈥檚 so many unknowns.鈥�
In sa国际传媒, the uncertainty is even stronger as investors wait for news on whether the tariffs will be introduced next week.
Trump has made big promises and threats, said Zechner, but it remains to be seen what he will actually do.
鈥淲hen it comes time to deliver, it's a different environment than it was eight years ago,鈥� he said.
鈥淭he market's hanging in relatively well. But, you know, sa国际传媒 has a lot more potential negatives in front of it, probably, than the U.S. does economically right now.鈥�
With the economy in sa国际传媒 weaker than in the U.S., the Bank of sa国际传媒 is expected to keep cutting, said Zechner. But it鈥檚 in an increasingly tough spot, he added.
鈥淭he more they widen that spread to U.S. rates, which is quite high now, the more you get the pressure on the Canadian dollar,鈥� he said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot more we don鈥檛 know than what we do know.鈥�
The Canadian dollar traded for 69.28 cents US compared with 69.50 cents US on Thursday.
The March crude oil contract was down 46 cents at US$77.39 per barrel and the February natural gas contract was down 31 cents at US$3.95 per mmBTU.
The February gold contract was down US$2.20 at US$2,748.70 an ounce and the March copper contract was down seven cents at US$4.37 a pound.
鈥� With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
Rosa Saba, The Canadian Press
