04:32 PM EDT, 03/25/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange closed higher for a second session on Tuesday Canadian investors seem to view U.S. President Donald Trump's threats against Canada's economy and sovereignty as "erratic" and "theatre."

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 35.4 points to 25,339.51. Among sectors, Base Metals were up 1.15%, followed by Health Care, up 0.62%, the day's biggest gainers. Information Technology was down 0.03%.

Mark Rendell at The Globe and Mail newspaper has, perhaps, caught the mood among many Canadian market watchers in writing President Trump's trade policy is "nothing if not erratic." Rendell noted Trump has imposed tariffs, paused them, made "vague but menacing threats" and promised a new broadside on April 2. He also noted Canada has retaliated with its own tariffs and threatened more if the United States doesn't back down.

Elsewhere in the Globe, reporter Steven Chase reported today Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said export taxes on shipments remain an option for retaliation in an escalating Canada-U.S. trade war and added he's only interested in serious talks with Trump, "not theatre".

Adding some pressure on Trump to not kickstart all out trade wars with other nations, including Canada and Mexico, Rosenberg Research noted the U.S. Conference Board's consumer confidence survey for March weakened to a four-year low of 92.9, under the FactSet consensus for a reading of 94.5 and down from 100.1 in February.

On the eve of the U.S. Presidential election, the confidence index was "sitting prettier" at 109.6. Rosenberg Research noted the 'present situation' subcomponent dipped to 134.5 from 138.1, but said the real action was in 'expectations,' which fell hard to 65.2 from 74.8, reflecting "policy-induced uncertainty triggering the 'disturbance' that President Trump warned about last month".

Rosenberg noted this was the the worst confidence showing since March 2013. "It is surreal that household views on the future are more downbeat now than at the depths of the 2020 pandemic recession," it added.

In sector related news, Bloomberg News noted "once-booming uranium stocks have been veering toward bust mode to start 2025". According to it, escalating trade tensions between the US and Canada, one of the world's key producers of the nuclear fuel, are playing a major part.

Bloomberg said talks toward a ceasefire in Russia's war in Ukraine raises the prospect of looser sanctions on Russian production of the radioactive metal and the potential for more supply. It noted the price of uranium is now down more than a third from early 2024, and has slumped roughly 11% this year alone. The widely followed US$2.9 billion Global X Uranium ETF ( URA ) , which mostly tracks mining shares, has declined about 5% in 2025. Meanwhile, Saskatchewan-based Cameco ( CCJ ) , the largest uranium miner in North America, has dropped 11%, following five years of gains.

Still on commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed lower for the first time in five sessions on reports Ukraine and Russia have agreed to a ceasefire covering the Black Sea, though supply concerns continue after President Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on U.S. imports from countries that import oil from Venezuela. WTI oil for May delivery was down $0.11 to settle at US$69.00 per barrel, while May Brent crude was last seen down $0.07 to US$72.93.

But gold traded at a fresh record high late afternoon on Tuesday as the dollar fell and safe-haven buying continues amid continuing tariff threats from President Trump. In its first day as the active contact, gold for June delivery was last seen up $9.50 to US$3,053.50 per ounce, topping the March 21 record close of $3.048.40.