TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index finished lower on Friday, weighed down by losses in the basic materials sector, as U.S. markets were closed for a holiday.

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 111.92 points at 34,857.34.

Shares of Alamos Gold Inc. and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. were down about 18 per cent and two per cent respectively. Those were some of the stocks that weighed on the overall index.

U.S. stock and commodities markets were closed for the Juneteenth holiday.

Brent Joyce, chief investment strategist at BMO Private Wealth, said geopolitical developments were putting upward pressure on oil prices.

Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group agreed Friday to halt the heavy fighting in southern Lebanon that had threatened to unravel an interim agreement between the United States and Iran to end their war.

Neither Israel nor Hezbollah immediately confirmed the truce.

Meanwhile, Joyce said a move by Canada’s federal banking regulator to lower its domestic stability buffer was “another positive shot in the arm for the Canadian market and the Canadian economy.”

The buffer was lowered to three per cent from 3.5 per cent.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions said the move will give the country’s six largest banks greater flexibility to deploy capital. The buffer is part of the amount of money Canada’s big banks must keep on hand in case of economic shock.

“From a bank shareholder perspective, it is an opportunity for them to put more capital to active use in their businesses, which should drive profit down the road,” Joyce said.

Canadian investors also digested a report from Statistics Canada that said retail sales rose 0.5 per cent to $73 billion in April, pushed higher by sales at gas stations and auto dealers.

Joyce said the Canadian consumer appears to be holding up better than expected.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve released projections showing policy-makers see the federal funds rate ending this year and the next two at higher levels than they had been forecasting a few months ago.

Sébastien Mc Mahon, chief economist at iA Financial Group, said the market has been reacting well to the “more hawkish turn from the Fed.”

“We disagreed at the beginning of the year when the market was pricing in three rate cuts. We thought rate hikes would be more appropriate. Now markets are aligned with that,” he said.

Overall, he said earnings appear to be the main driving force in the market this year.

“Earnings are just so solid that we’re not surprised at all that the market is that resilient, and we’re still quite optimistic for the rest of the year,” Mc Mahon said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2026.

— With files from The Associated Press

Companies in this story: (TSX: GSPTSE, TSX: CADUSD, TSX: AGI, TSX: AEM)

Daniel Johnson, The Canadian Press