Rescued Nafta deal lifts stocks, Canadian dollar
A last-minute agreement between the US and Canada to rescue a trilateral Nafta accord with Mexico drove up global stock markets and the Canadian dollar yesterday.
The new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) announced on Sunday rescues a $1.2 trillion open-trade zone that was on the brink of collapse after nearly a quarter century.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 266.92 points, or 1.01 per cent, to 26,725.23, the S&P 500 gained 20.39 points, or 0.70 per cent, to 2,934.37 and the Nasdaq Composite added 43.99 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 8,090.34.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.34 per cent.
“The trade deal is helping risk appetite across the board, especially the Canadian dollar, and that will likely lift appetite for emerging-market currencies across the board,” said Manuel Oliveri, a currency strategist at Credit Agricole in London.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.85 per cent against the dollar at a four-month high and the Mexican peso hit its highest in over seven weeks, up nearly a per cent on the day.
USMCA is aimed at bringing more jobs into the US, with Canada and Mexico accepting more restrictive commerce with the US, their main export...