04:15 PM EST, 02/24/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange just about recorded its first win day in four session on Monday after losing about 60 points over the last 30 minutes or so of trading as U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated that he is going ahead with tariffs on imports coming from other nations, including Canada.

In the end the TSX closed up just 4.23 points at 25,151.26. Among sectors, Telecoms (+0.90%) and Base Metals (+0.36%), were the day's only gainers. The Battery Metals Index (-5.8%) and Healthcare (-2.8%) were the biggest decliners, down 5.8% and 2.8%, respectively.

"We are on time with the tariffs," said Trump during a press briefing after his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House. "The tariffs are going forward. On time, on Schedule," the U.S. President added.

Trump didn't provide any more details on how the tariffs will work, only saying: "We want reciprocity... so if somebody charges us, we charge them."

Under Trump, the U.S. plans from early March to implement a 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico. Energy resources from Canada will have a lower 10% tariff.

Meanwhile, National Bank touched on the tariffs situation in its Monthly Equity Monitor for February/March 2025, in noting the MSCI ACWI, which captures large and mid cap representation across Developed Markets (DM) and Emerging Markets (EM) countries, has already recorded a cumulative price gain of 3.4% in 2025. Surprisingly, the bank said, all major regions, except Japan, are posting positive returns.

Why, National Bank asked are stock markets seemingly unfazed by the prospect of a global tariff war? According to it, part of the answer lies in the belief that U.S. President Trump would be unlikely to trigger a punitive trade war that could harm U.S. households through a negative wealth effect, reignite inflation, and undermine the Federal Reserve's ability to cut interest rates.

Despite the persistent threat of American tariffs, National Bank noted the S&P/TSX has remained resilient since the start of the year. However, the bank said, performance has been uneven, with the Materials and IT sectors driving nearly all of the Canadian benchmark's gains. Elsewhere, half of the 12 key sectors are down year-to-date, underscoring what may be the most uncertain economic environment in modern Canadian history.

National Bank said its asset allocation "remains cautious" this month, given ongoing uncertainty around U.S. economic policy and its potential effects on the global supply chain and corporate profits. The bank plans to maintain a defensive posture until it sees the White House implement policies that mitigate the risks to U.S. economic growth posed by an aggressive protectionist stance, fiscal retrenchment, and restrictive immigration policies.

Of commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed higher on Monday after the United States issued fresh sanctions on Iran's oil industry. WTI crude for April delivery closed up US$0.30 to settle at US$70.70 per barrel, while April Brent crude was last seen up US$0.25 to US$74.68.

Gold traded at yet another record high mid-afternoon on Monday on safe-haven demand amid uncertainty over the health of the global economy as tariff threats from the United States continue to create uncertainty. Gold for April delivery was last seen up $9.60 to US$2,962.80 per ounce, topping the previous record high set on Thursday of US$2,956.10.