04:23 PM EST, 02/14/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange closed lower on Friday amid weakening commodity prices and on reports U.S. President Donald Trump will unveil new tariffs on automobiles around in April, in a move that would hurt the Canadian economy.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 215.28 points to 25,483.23. Among sectors today, most were lower with Health down 1.4%, Base Metals down 1.1% and Energy down 1%. The Battery Metals Index helped cap losses, rising 2%.

The moved down comes after the TSX got to within 0.4% of a record high on Thursday, as stock pickers are seen "seemingly awaiting actions and not responding to words" when it comes to trade uncertainty. Bloomberg News noted that Trump on Friday did not provide any details on the scope or rate of the potential auto levies. It is also unclear the impact they would have on vehicles built under the free trade agreement between the United States., Canada and Mexico. Auto production supply chains across North America are highly integrated.

Douglas Porter, Chief Economist at BMO Economics, in his weekly 'Talking Points' note said the "resiliency" of the S&P 500 in the face of trade uncertainty "may be somewhat understandable," but he added less understandable is the resilience of the TSX. He noted the index remains up more than 20% year over year. "Similar to the comeback in the loonie, Canadian equities are seemingly awaiting actions and not responding to words," Porter added.

According to Porter, that may well be the case for economic forecasts as well. He noted the latest monthly Consensus Forecasts, conducted just this week, reveal that Canadian economists have only slightly marked down their view on domestic GDP growth to 1.5% this year and 1.7% next, with BMO two ticks higher on both. Porter said, "While each contributor likely has a slightly different approach to how they are handling the tariff threat, it's pretty clear that no one has a full-on trade war built into their call-growth projections would be closer to zero or lower if that was the case".

It is also possible that Canadian stock pickers have been buoyed by recent commentary from companies like TC Energy ( TRP ) and Enbridge ( ENB ) suggesting the trade dispute between Canada and the United States may yet present this nation with new opportunities around self reliance and growth.

The uncertain trade relationship with the United States has changed the outlook for infrastructure projects like pipelines in Canada, the chief financial officer of TC Energy ( TRP ) has said. In an interview with BNN Bloomberg on Friday, Sean O'Donnell said the climate for conversations about new pipelines is changing in Canada. A report on the interview noted TC was the lead for a project known as Energy East that would have pumped oil from Alberta all the way east across the country to export terminals in the Maritimes. As O'Donnell put it, the company thinks "markets both commercial and political are increasingly amenable to those types of projects".

Elsewhere, as concerns rise about Canada's reliance on the U.S. for energy exports, Enbridge ( ENB ) chief executive Greg Ebel said getting a big new energy export project off the ground in this country would require drastic shifts in government policy, the Canadian Press reported.

Speaking on an earnings call, Ebel reportedly laid out numerous criteria such as legal guarantees for a pipeline, the removal of various environmental policies, more funding for Indigenous participation and better indications of costs and financial returns before the company would consider reviving something like the Northern Gateway pipeline or other export projects. "For us to be willing to seriously consider reinvesting in a project like that, whether it's east or west or just west, we need to see real change on numerous fronts," Ebel is cited as saying.

Of commodities, gold edged down from a record early on Friday even as the dollar and treasury yields fell after U.S. retail sales dropped more than expected last month, showing a slowing economy even as inflation continues to run hot. Gold for April delivery was last seen down $49.50 to US$2,895.90 per ounce, falling off Thursday's record high.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed with a loss as traders gauge the latest moves from the U.S. Administration, which is promising to end Russia's war on Ukraine while threatening widespread tariffs on trading partners. WTI crude oil for March delivery closed down $0.55 to settle at US$70.74 per barrel, while April Brent crude was last seen down $0.17 to US$74.85.