Trade Talks Revived, Markets Inches Up

Canada's main stock index opened flat on Monday, as losses in energy shares countered gains in technology stocks, while investors assessed the revival of trade talks between Washington and Ottawa.The TSX Composite Index eked up at the opening bell Monday to 26,703.60. The Canadian dollar edged up 0.07 cents to 73.15 cents U.S. Markets in Canada will be closed for Canada Day. ON BAYSTREET The TSX Venture Exchange acquired 2.44 points to 726.70Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were ahead in the first hour, with health-care better by 1.6%, telecoms up 0.7%, and information technology advancing 0.6%. The four laggards were weighed most by real-estate and energy, each backpedaling 0.6%, and materials, off 0.1%. ON WALLSTREET Stocks rose early Monday as increasing trade hopes among investors position Wall Street to close out a stunning month with even more record highs.The Dow Jones Industrials hiked 147.27 points to 43,966.50.The S&P 500 advanced 15.09 points to begin the day and the week at 6,188.16, building on the record highs set in the previous sessionThe NASDAQ Composite tacked on 40.11 points to 20,313.57, also a new record high.Monday marks the last day of June, a month in which the major averages have staged a sharp recovery back to record levels. The S&P 500 is up 4.7% this month, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ has jumped 6.5%. The Dow, meanwhile, has added about 4% month to date.Monday’s advance follows Canada rescinding its digital service tax in an effort to facilitate trade negotiations with the U.S. That’s after President Donald Trump on Friday said the U.S. was “terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada.” Initial payments on the tax were set to begin Monday and would have applied to companies such as Google, Meta and Amazon.Investors are awaiting the announcement of any trade deals between the U.S. and its trading partners, as Trump’s 90-day tariff reprieve is set to expire on July 9. Investors will also be keeping an eye on whether the Senate will be able to pass President Donald Trump’s “one, big, beautiful” bill. If passed by the Senate, the package — which narrowly passed a key procedural vote in the Senate on Saturday night — faces an uncertain path in the House, where some GOP lawmakers have balked at revisions in the latest version of the bill.Prices for the 10-year treasury were static, keeping yields at Friday’s 4.27%. Oil prices inched lower 25 cents to $65.27 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices revived $9.30 to $3,296.90 U.S. an ounce.