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Investing.com -- Canada’s main stock index opened down on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump reignited fears of a U.S.-China trade war.

By 9:50 ET, the bellwether S&P/TSX 60 index was down 2.7 points or 0.2% in trading, after closing lower by 0.3% on Thursday.

Toronto’s S&P/TSX Composite was falling 39.4 points or 0.2% following the previous session, in which the index posted losses of 72.9 points or 0.3%.

Trump accused China of breaking a recent trade truce, saying "China... has totally violated its agreement with us" and "so much for being Mr. Nice Guy!" 

Earlier this month, the two countries agreed to reduce or suspend tariffs, with the U.S. agreeing to lower duties from 145% to 30% and suspending additional tariffs, and China cutting its tax from 125% to 10%. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinted at this development Thursday, saying trade talks have become "stalled." 

GDP solid

Canada’s economy posted a modest rebound in March, with real GDP edging up 0.1%, after a 0.2% contraction in February, according to data released by Statistics Canada. The monthly improvement helped boost overall first-quarter growth to 0.5%, while GDP rose at an annualized pace of 2.2%, slightly ahead of the 2.1% pace recorded in the final quarter of 2024, and above the Bank of Canada’s projection of 1.8%.

CIBC (TSX:CM)’s Andrew Grantham said, "While headline GDP growth was solid in Q1, it was flattered by a surge in exports as companies looked to front-run potential US tariffs. Domestic demand was weak during the quarter, and monthly data point towards only slight upward momentum heading into Q2."

U.S. stocks sink

U.S. stock indexes were declining on Friday, as investors gauged the renewed tensions between China and the U.S.

As of 9:45 ET, the S&P 500 was lower by 18.2 points or 0.3%, the Nasdaq Composite was falling 109.3 points or 0.6%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 29.1 points or 0.1%.

In yesterday’s trading, the S&P gained 0.4%, the Nasdaq 0.4%, and the Dow 0.3%. The primary catalyst was tech giant NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)’s strong earnings, which reaffirmed AI and chip demand, and a blockage of Trump’s "Liberation Day" tariff ensemble by a U.S. federal court, easing trade fears. That blockage has now been paused by the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Crude Oil prices slip ahead of OPEC+ decision 

Oil prices fell Friday and were headed for a weekly loss amid heightened uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs, with focus turning to an upcoming OPEC+ decision on output. 

By 9:45 ET, Crude Oil WTI Futures was down 0.8%, pricing in at $60.43 a barrel, while Brent Oil Futures dropped 1.1% to $62.67 per barrel.

Benchmark prices were set to lose around 2% this week, heading for a second straight week in red, as uncertainty over Trump’s tariffs and their economic impact weighed on the outlook for demand.  

Gold Futures drop

Gold traded lower on Friday, as the US Dollar Index Futures strengthened and pushed Gold prices down. 

At 9:40 ET, XAU/USD fell 0.8% to $3,288.55/oz, while Gold Futures traded downward by 0.7%, pricing in at $3,320.06/oz.

The Dollar Index was up 0.3%, pricing in at $99.56, by that time. The strengthening in the dollar was driven by expectations of fewer Federal Reserve rate cuts.

(Peter Nurse also contributed to this article)

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