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Canada’s main stock index finished in positive territory, and oil prices fell Monday after the U.S. and Iran paused attacks, while U.S. markets were mixed.
Oil prices reversed course from a week ago, when a sharp escalation in fighting between the U.S. and Iran worsened worries about global oil supplies.
Sébastien Mc Mahon, chief economist at iA Financial Group, said in a statement that the developments in the Middle East were encouraging, but fell short of a resolution.
“We're watching whether calm holds, not reacting to a single good weekend. A balanced positioning is built to ride exactly this kind of noisy stretch and this is a week to hold the plan,” he said.
The September crude oil contract for North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was down US$6.70 at US$82.61 per barrel.
The price of Brent crude, the international standard, dropped 6.3 per cent to settle at US$85.87 a barrel for October delivery. Prices surged to over US$100 a barrel last week before easing.
The war between the U.S. and Iran has sharply curtailed, and at times halted, traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz. That has had a ripple effect throughout the world’s economy.
On the TSX, gains were led by the technology sector. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 199.04 points at 35,568.14.
In the U.S. market, technology companies were behind much of the shifts, with gains and declines for a mix of big companies resulting in uncertain trading. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 262.83 points at 52,210.08. The S&P 500 index was up 1.20 points at 7,413.18, while the Nasdaq composite was down 43.74 points at 24,932.08.
Michael Currie, senior investment adviser at TD Wealth, said markets started the trading day with “nothing but excitement and happiness” as oil prices fell, but declines in semiconductor stocks worked to slow the momentum.
Semiconductor stocks are tied to AI sentiment.
“It seems to be just the semiconductor sector that's big enough and strong enough to just flip things around completely,” he said.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's tech index is light on semiconductor companies, which is why tech stocks fuelled the upward movement today despite having the opposite effect south of the border.
Nvidia fell five per cent and Micron Technology slumped 2.3 per cent. At the same time, Microsoft rose 1.9 per cent and Apple rose 1.2 per cent. They are all among the most valuable companies in the world, and those huge valuations give them more influence over the direction of the broader market.
The mix of gains and losses from a variety of those companies had more impact in pushing and pulling the market, even as the majority of companies in the S&P 500 gained ground.
Wall Street has a busy week ahead with several potentially market-moving updates on the economy and company earnings.
The big focus will be on the U.S. Federal Reserve, which will give an update Wednesday on its interest rate policy. The central bank has been grappling with the impact from rising inflation because of the ongoing U.S. war with Iran. It also has to contend with a fresh round of U.S.-imposed tariffs globally, which could further worsen inflation.
Wall Street anticipates a nearly 36 per cent chance that the Fed will raise interest rates at its meeting this week. The central bank has been holding rates steady throughout the year as it monitors inflation’s direction and impact, but Wall Street expects at least one rate hike by the end of the year.
The Canadian dollar traded for 70.85 cents US compared with 70.96 cents on Friday.
The August gold contract was up US$6.20 at US$4,077 an ounce.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2026.
— With files from The Associated Press.
Companies in this story: (TSX: GSPTSE, TSX: CADUSD)
Daniel Johnson, The Canadian Press
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