TSX hits three-week high after softer US stance on new tariffs

By Nivedita Balu

(Reuters) -Canada's main stock index rose on Monday to touch a three-week high after the Trump administration signaled it may give some countries breaks on tariffs and take a more measured approach against its trading partners.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 335.62 points, or 1.34%, at 25,304.11.

U.S. President Donald Trump had anticipated applying broad levies starting on April 2 but a set of sector-specific tariffs is now likely to be excluded, according to media reports over the weekend citing administration officials.

"We were due for some optimism, especially as we were getting close April 2. Now we have a little bit more clarity on what that's going to look like," said Barry Schwartz, chief investment officer at Baskin Wealth.

"Markets like certainty, whether good or bad," Schwartz said.

A Trump administration official on Monday cautioned that the situation was fluid and no final decisions had been made.

Trump also said not all the new tariffs would be announced on April 2, and that he may give "a lot of countries" breaks on tariffs, but provided no details.

On the TSX, the information technology sector advanced nearly 2.5%, with blockchain farm operator Bitfarms rising 8% after bitcoin climbed 3.9%. Shopify rose 4.7% on a broader tech rally south of the border.

The energy sector gained 1.5%, as oil prices strengthened. [O/R]

The heavily weighted financials also rose 1.6%.

On the data front, U.S. business activity picked up in March, but growing fears over import tariffs and deep government spending cuts weighed on prospects for the rest of the year.

Canada's January GDP figures and the U.S. Federal Reserve's preferred inflation reading — the Personal Consumption Expenditure data — are expected later in the week.

New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called a snap election for April 28 on Sunday, saying he needed a strong mandate to deal with the threat posed by Trump.

Among individual stocks, Peyto Exploration & Development advanced nearly 4% after BMO upgraded its rating to "outperform" from "market perform".

Lightspeed Commerce fell 6% after the software company cut its revenue forecast for 2025 due to tariff uncertainty.

(Reporting by Ragini Mathur and Sanchayaita Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed and Nia Williams)