iShares S&P / TSX 60 Stock (TSE:XIU) Notches Up as Carney Talks Tough on Tariffs

The ongoing tariff battle between the United States and Canada looks like it will be ongoing for some time to come. But the iShares S&P / TSX 60 Index ETF (TSE:XIU) is responding positively, and shares of this index ETF were up fractionally in Tuesday morning’s trading as Canadian prime minister Mark Carney brought out the tough talk.

With “Liberation Day” now at hand, and a 25% tariff on cars made outside the United States likewise in effect, Carney brought out the big guns when discussing those tariffs. Carney declared the tariffs “…in violation of our existing trade agreements,” and further declared that he “…reject(ed) any attempts to weaken Canada.”

Carney also, bizarrely, declared that the United States would never “own” Canada, which is baffling, as no one was actually trying to own Canada in the first place, by most available reports. That being said, it also brings to mind recent efforts from Alberta, which was considering detaching itself from Canada and potentially joining the United States in some fashion. Potentially as a state, a protectorate, or as its own independent country with economic ties to the United States.

Meanwhile, at Canadian Malls

This news comes at an interesting time for Canada, whose physical retail landscape was shaken up not long ago by the disappearance of Hudson’s Bay stores. These empty retail behemoths—which are much like Sears stores once were in the United States, typically anchor stores in large shopping malls—are representing a lot of potential for both good and ill.

And with this massive shakeup comes the potential for a major re-imagining of the entire mall concept in Canada, in much the same way the United States has been grappling with it for years. There is currently substantial interest in these spaces for apartments, for amusement operations and food halls, for pickleball courts, even for medical services. But with Hudson’s Bay representing one of the last major retailers that took up that kind of footprint, the time is increasingly now for that fundamental shift.

Is the iShares S&P / TSX 60 Index ETF a Good Buy Right Now?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on TSE:XIU stock based on 53 Buys, six Holds and two Sellss assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 16.35% rally in its share price over the past year, the average TSE:XIU price target of C$43.85 per share implies 15.31% upside potential.

See more TSE:XIU analyst ratings

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