Relatively small gain for index

Photo: The Canadian Press

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index posted modest gains Thursday ahead of the Easter long weekend, led by strength in energy stocks as the price of oil rose, while U.S. markets were mixed.

Without major tariff news to react to, markets headed into the long weekend with a small bounceback, though some large names dragged, said John Zechner, chairman and lead equity manager at J. Zechner Associates.

“It’s just positioning, I think, ahead of the weekend,” he said.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 86.02 points at 24,192.81.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 527.16 points at 39,142.23. The S&P 500 index was up seven points at 5,282.70, while the Nasdaq composite was down 20.71 points at 16,286.45.

Three-quarters of the stocks on the S&P 500 were up, but the Dow was dragged lower by UnitedHealth Group, which plunged 22.4% after its earnings report disappointed.

The Nasdaq, meanwhile, zigzagged between gains and losses before ending the day in the red, pulled lower by another drop for artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia amid concerns over what the U.S.’ trade war with China could do to its business.

Markets have been quite volatile in recent weeks, spiking and falling by the day and even by the hour on every update to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. That volatility is expected to continue, Zechner said.

“What markets hate most is uncertainty, and they’re just getting it in spades,” he said.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.17 cents US compared with 71.99 cents US on Wednesday.

The June crude oil contract was up US$2.18 at US$64.01 per barrel, and the May natural gas contract was down two cents US at US$3.23 per mmBTU.

The June gold contract was down US$18 at US$3,328.40 an ounce, and the May copper contract was up five cents US at US$4.74 a pound.