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Investing.com -- Canada’s main stock indexes were mixed after market open on Monday, following renewed trade tensions between the U.S. and China, as well as U.S. President Donald Trump’s raising of steel tariffs from 25% to 50%.

By 10:05 ET, the bellwether S&P/TSX 60 index lost 1.7 points or 0.1%, following a fall of 0.1% on Friday.

Toronto’s S&P/TSX Composite was higher by 3 points or 0.01% following the previous session, in which the index dropped 46.2 points or 0.2%.

It seems as if trade tensions are rising between the U.S. and China, following a trade agreement that sent sky-high tariffs between the two nations down. Last week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said further talks with China had "stalled," and Trump accused China of violating the agreement, saying, "so much for being Mr. NICE GUY!"

On Monday, China responded, calling Trump’s accusations "groundless," and promised measures to safeguard its interests. 

Trump also raised tariffs on steel and aluminum stocks from 25% to 50%, coming into effect on Wednesday, sending U.S. steel stocks higher and Canadian steel stocks lower. 

By 9:45 ET, some Toronto steel staples decreased. Algoma Steel Group Inc (TSX:ASTL) dropped 9.1% and Linamar Corporation (TSX:LNR) fell 1.5%.

U.S. stocks lower

Trading in U.S. stock indexes was lower on Monday, as investors gauged the heightened tensions and potentially tighter sanctions on the tech sector.

As of 9:50 ET, the S&P 500 was down 22.8 points or 0.4%, the NASDAQ Composite was 21.1 points or 0.1% lower, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 208.3 points or 0.5%.

In Friday’s trading, the S&P dropped 0.1%, the Nasdaq 0.3%, and the Dow gained 0.1%.

Chip stocks slipped slightly in premarket trading Monday, as reports came in that the Trump administration is prepping to tighten sanctions on China tech. Bloomberg reported Friday that the sanctions are to be enforced through existing rules but expanded to include subsidiaries of already sanctioned firms.

Crude Oil jumps after OPEC+ meeting

Oil prices rose strongly Monday after OPEC+ announced plans to increase production in July by the same amount as the prior two months, something of a relief after talk of a bigger increase. 

By 10:00 ET, Crude Oil WTI Futures bounded up 3.3%, pricing in at $62.81 a barrel, while Brent Oil Futures rose 3% to $64.69 per barrel.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, known as OPEC+, decided on Saturday to raise output by 411,000 barrels per day in July.

Gold Futures gain on heightened uncertainty

Gold traded higher on Monday, as investors once more turned to the precious metal as a safeguard from U.S. tariff-driven uncertainty.

At 10:00 ET, XAU/USD rose 2.5% to $3,373.25/oz, while Gold Futures traded up 2.4%, pricing in at $3,395.56/oz.

The precious metal has experienced a downturn in markets lately, as tensions eased slightly. It was previously topping all-time-highs, and looks to continue the trend if uncertainty continues. 

(Peter Nurse also contributed to this article)

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