TORONTO — Stock markets in Canada and the U.S. moved lower on Monday as oil prices jumped following a weekend of attacks in the Middle East.
Pierre-Benoit Gauthier, vice-president of investment strategy at IG Wealth Management, said he was surprised the TSX wasn’t faring better, given the effect of higher oil prices on energy stocks.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 52.59 points at 35,252.72.
Meanwhile, he said the U.S. market appears to be experiencing a rotation and not a sell-off, “but we’ll see how long the markets can endure” rising oil prices.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 138.37 points at 52,498.64. The S&P 500 index was down 60.05 points at 7,515.34, while the Nasdaq composite was down 408.43 points at 25,873.18.
The August crude oil contract for North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up US$6.73 at US$78.14 per barrel.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, climbed 9.6 per cent to US$83.30 after the United States and Iran each said the Strait of Hormuz is under its control. Fighting in the region has kept oil tankers from using the strait to deliver crude to customers from the Persian Gulf, which drives up fuel prices worldwide.
The gains for oil prices accelerated immediately after U.S. President Donald Trump said he’s reinstating a blockade to prevent tankers carrying Iranian oil from using the strait. He also called for 20 per cent payments on all cargo shipped through it to reimburse the United States for providing protection in the area.
“The market has become so accustomed to ignoring Donald Trump that even in the face of higher oil, more uncertainty and higher yields, we are still very close to all-time highs in the U.S. stock market,” said Gauthier.
“It shows how used to it the stock market has become, but you could also maybe start to call it a little complacent, because these are actual risks and risks of inflation creeping back up.”
In the U.S. market, chip stocks like Micron Technology also helped lead the way lower. Micron fell 4.4 per cent, eating into what had been a stellar rise of 243 per cent for the year so far.
Nvidia fell 3.5 per cent. Because it’s the largest stock on Wall Street by value thanks to the euphoria around AI, it was the single heaviest weight on the S&P 500.
However, much of Wall Street’s attention this week will be on profit reports from companies saying how much they earned during the spring. On Tuesday alone, Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo are all releasing their latest quarterly results.
One of the reasons markets seem to be relatively optimistic, Gauthier said, is the upcoming earnings season.
“We are already starting Q2 earnings season, and from every way you look at it, it’s very likely to be an extraordinary earnings season once again,” he said.
Companies across industries will need to deliver strong growth to justify the big moves their stock prices have made.
The August gold contract was down US$108.00 at US$4,005.70 an ounce.
The Canadian dollar traded for 70.70 cents US compared with 70.69 cents US on Friday.
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Daniel Johnson, The Canadian Press
With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2026.
