Canada’s main stock index rose on Friday, helped by gains in the materials sector, after concerns around immediate U.S. military involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict were temporarily allayed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.3% at 26,583.34 points, on track to log its fourth consecutive weekly rise.
The White House said on Thursday President Donald Trump will decide on whether to join Israel in the war in the next two weeks, citing the possibility of negotiations involving Iran in the near future.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said there was no room for negotiations with the U.S. “until Israeli aggression stops”.
Araqchi was due to meet European foreign ministers for talks in Geneva, where Europe hopes to establish a path back to diplomacy.
“I think there is a room for diplomacy now, at least there seems to be a window for reaching potentially a solutionin the Israel-Iran war,” said Angelo Kourkafas, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones.
TSX dips on Middle East conflict concerns
The TSX’s materials sector led the advances with a 0.7% rise, as copper prices climbed due to a slightly softer dollar.
The technology sector was up 0.4%, on track to be the biggest gainer for the week with a more than 2% rise.
E-commerce giant Shopify, up 2.8%, was among the index’s top percentage gainers.
On the flip side, the energy sector was the biggest decliner as oil prices fell.
On the economic front, Canada’s retail sales rose 0.3% in April, but missed estimates, data showed.
“The theme of resilience remains, but there’s more signs that the economy is slowing, potentially as the labor market continues to cool that might translate in slower consumer spending, which you know the Bank of Canada will not ignore,” Kourkafas said.
Estimates revealed the country’s retail sales are likely to contract by 1.1% in May.
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