Canadian stocks rose Friday on higher gold and

oil prices,

avoiding the swoon that hit major US and European indexes from fears of a drawn out Iran war.

The

S&P/TSX Composite Index

closed 0.2 per cent higher in Toronto. Gains from oil majors

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.

and Suncor Energy Inc. as well as gold miners like

Barrick Mining Corp.

drove the benchmark.

Friday’s move in the S&P/TSX Composite was a contrast to U.S. markets. The S&P 500 fell 1.7 per cent to hit its lowest point since August, while the Nasdaq 100 was down 1.9 per cent and entered a technical correction, meaning a 10 per cent decline from its October peak.

The TSX rallied as the price of West Texas Intermediate crude approached US$100 a barrel and traders reacted to Iran war shortage fears.

Gold prices jumped to more than US$4,500 as bargain-hunting traders bought the precious metal, whose price had slipped at the onset of the Middle East conflict.

“Gold is starting to behave more as like a safe haven for geopolitical risk,” Craig Basinger, chief market strategist at Purpose Investments, said on Friday. “Clearly, that’s good for the TSX.”

Energy and materials are the second- and third-most important sectors in the stocks benchmark, together comprising a nearly 38 per cent weighting.

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The performance of oil and gold stocks has helped the TSX outperform U.S. benchmarks so far in 2026, with the Canadian gauge gaining about 0.8 per cent and the S&P 500 falling seven per cent.

With assistance from Stephanie Hughes.

Bloomberg.com