TSX ticks lower at close as U.S. delays decision on Iran conflict involvement

Investing.com - Canada’s main stock exchange edged lower on Friday at close, as investors assessed potential U.S. involvement in an ongoing air war between Iran and Israel.

By the 4:00 ET close, the S&P/TSX 60 index dropped 0.1 points, or 0.01%.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index lost 8.4 points or 0.03%, following a Thursday in which it fell by 53.85 points, or 0.2%, ending at 26,506.00. Volumes were muted yesterday due to the closure of U.S. markets for a holiday.

Energy stocks were higher during the session, mirroring a climb in oil prices, which have been lifted by worries over the impact of the Israel-Iran conflict on Middle East supply flows. The crucial Strait of Hormuz is located along Iran’s southern coast.

The Canadian Competition Buraeu announced a settlement with Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (TSX:CNQ), in which the regulators allowed for the company to proceed with its purchase of Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB)’s stake in a natural gas JV only upon agreeing to divest 75% of its stake in the Seiu Lake facility, which is part of the deal. 

Elsewhere, Statistics Canada reported that Canada’s retail sales numbers rose by 0.3% in April, but suggested that May’s preliminary retail data shows a pullback of 1.1%. 

U.S. stocks finish mixed

U.S. stocks were mixed in Friday trade, ending the week on a negative note as investors continue to monitor the Israel-Iran fighting that has now entered its second week.

At the 4:00 ET close, the S&P dropped 15.4 points or 0.3%, and the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite slipped 98.9 points, or 0.5%. Conversely, the legacy Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 35.2 points or 0.1%.

Wall Street was closed for the Juneteenth holiday on Thursday, and investors have been wary of placing any big bets this week. The S&P 500 is up marginally so far this week with a gain of 0.1%. The 30-stock Dow has lost 0.1%, while the Nasdaq has advanced about 1%.

Chip manufacturing stocks, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM), Lam Research Corp (NASDAQ:LRCX), and Applied Materials Inc (NASDAQ:AMAT) saw shares fall on Friday, after reports broke that U.S. officials plan to revoke tech waivers for chipmakers operating in China. The news from The Wall Street Journal points to yet another escalation in the on-again-off-again trade war between the U.S. and China, also sending NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares down over 1%. 

Other Friday movers included Circle Internet Group Inc (NYSE:CRCL), up 20.4% on recent U.S. stablecoin legislation, and CoreWeave Inc (NASDAQ:CRWV), up 8.1%, having launched three new AI cloud products on Wednesday. The 2025 IPO darlings have both surged over 500% since going public. 

Trump to decide on Iran strike in two weeks - White House

President Donald Trump will decide on direct U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict within the next two weeks, the White House said on Thursday.

Trump was seen still holding out for the possibility of nuclear talks with Tehran, even as hostilities between Israel and Iran showed little signs of cooling. While the president has publicly mused about directly attacking Iran, he has also touted the possibility of nuclear talks with the Islamic republic.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters that "Iran is ready to consider diplomacy again."

Late Friday, Trump cautioned that it would be hard to ask Israel to stop current airstrikes on Iran. He also said that, prior to the war, Iran would have had nuclear weapon capabilities within months. However, the President said that he wasn’t looking to bring U.S. ground forces into Iran, calling it "the last thing" he wanted to do.

The Israel-Iran conflict, which entered its eighth day on Friday, has kept Wall Street largely risk-off over the past week, as markets feared a wider conflict in the Middle East.

A spike in oil prices, resulting from the conflict, also sparked concerns over energy-driven inflation.

Brent slumps

Brent crude futures slumped on Friday following the White House’s comments, although the contract is on course to rise for a third consecutive week.

At 4:35 ET, Brent crude futures -- the price barometer for much of the world’s oil market -- had fallen by 2% to $77.25 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for August were higher by 0.7%, moving to $ 74.03 per barrel.

Oil prices spiked by nearly 3% on Thursday, although trading volumes were relatively light with U.S. markets closed.

Gold drops

Gold prices inched down, reflecting some improvement in risk appetite after comments from the White House suggested that a U.S. strike on Iran was not imminent.

The yellow metal remained on the backfoot following hawkish comments from the Federal Reserve earlier this week, which buoyed the dollar. While the dollar did pull back slightly on Friday, it was set for weekly gains.

Spot gold was mostly flat around $3.368.83 per ounce, while gold futures for August slid 0.7% to $3,384.50/oz by 4:40 ET.

(Luke Juricic also contributed to this article)