HEADLINES
Canada and China Edge Closer With Progress on Trade
China and Canada agreed to lower tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles and Canadian canola as a part of what their leaders called a "new strategic partnership," with U.S. trade frictions looming in the background.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, after meeting Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, said that Canada must be pragmatic when facing a rapidly rupturing global trading system. Beijing has been seeking to court countries grappling with U.S. protectionism and volatile trade policies.
The Trump administration warned Canada's move may prove to be "problematic" for its northern neighbor.
Carney Criticized Over 'Lopsided' EV Deal With China Canadian Chamber Offers Lukewarm Endorsement of Renewed China Engagement
Housing Starts Rose 11% in December, Though Trend Remains Soft
Canadian housing starts ended last year on a stronger note, recovering from recent softness as housing activity has been held back by uncertainty in the wake of the Trump administration's shift in trade policy and embrace of tariffs.
Housing starts across Canada came in at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 282,439 units in December, an 11% rise from the month before, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said. The market was expecting about 260,000 residential housing projects to have started in December, according to economists at TD Securities.
Still, the trend measure--a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts--slipped 0.1% to 264,428 units last month, Canada's national housing agency said.
Arbutus Biopharma Falls on Revocation of European Patent
Shares of Arbutus Biopharma slid after the company said the European Patent Office had revoked one of its patents.
Nasdaq-listed shares fell 13.6% to $4.06.
The company said the European agency gave a verbal decision revoking the patent, known as the '254 patent, which was provided without reasons.
The agency said the revocation was connected to notices of opposition to the patent filed by Moderna and Merck, Sharp & Dohme in 2018. Merck & Co. does business as Merck, Sharp & Dohme outside of the U.S. and Canada.
Hudbay Hits Consolidated Copper, Gold Production Target for 2025
Hudbay Minerals hit its overall copper and gold production target for last year, despite headwinds from mandatory wildfire-evacuation shutdowns and temporary operational interruptions that led to delays in output.
The copper-focused miner said that for an 11th consecutive year it achieved its annual copper production guidance, and that for a fifth successive year it met its yearly gold output guidance.
Hudbay produced an estimated 118,188 metric tons of copper and 267,934 troy ounces of gold in 2025, based on preliminary fourth-quarter results. It also produced about 17,646 tons of zinc, 3.47 million ounces of silver and 1,282 tons of molybdenum.
Foreigners Bought C$16.33 Billion of Canadian Securities in November
Foreigners again added to their holdings of Canadian securities in November, though the pace slowed as investments in Canadian stocks were sold down, while Canadian investors reversed the foreign securities offloaded a month earlier.
The result was international transactions generated a modest net outflow from the Canadian economy of roughly C$161 million in November after a sizeable C$58.2 billion inflow the month before, Statistics Canada said.
Nonresident investors purchased a net C$16.33 billion in Canadian securities during the latest month, the national data agency said. That was down from C$46.62 billion bought in October and C$31.32 billion the month prior.
TALKING POINT
Materials Stocks Are a 'Go.' It's a Positive Signal for a New Era.
By Jacob Sonenshine
Materials stocks have surged, and this time it could last. Their fundamentals are changing for the better, positioning the stocks as potentially viable long-term investments.
The State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund, home to metal miners, steel makers, and producers of chemicals, paints, and other goods needed for housing, is up 12% from a low point in October. Since then, the economic outlook has brightened as the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates, which should stimulate consumer demand and business investment. That tends to significantly boost the most economically sensitive stocks.
Now, every stock in the ETF is trading above its 50-day moving average, while fewer than 20% were that strong when the fund was at its October bottom, according to SentimenTrader. Data from the research shop going back to 2001 show that in the 11 instances when the percentage of holdings in the fund trading above the moving average jumped from 20% to 100%, returns have averaged 15.5% over the following 12 months.
It rose two-thirds of the time, with the largest increase at 58%. That is a lot of reward for not a lot of risk: The worst return was a 2.1% drop.
The wrinkle is that in the very short term, the stocks have more risk and less reward. In the one month following a surge in the portion of materials stocks trading above their 50-day moving averages, the average return is a 1.3% gain, with the worst loss at 8.3%.
That makes sense because when these economically sensitive stocks reach such heights, they quickly see selling pressure. Traders tend to unload the shares to lock in profits, reflecting the risk that the economy doesn't unfold perfectly.
Investors with time horizons longer than one month can look for moments to buy these stocks on dips. One option is to buy the materials fund, while buying the names doing the heaviest leg work in the sector- the miners-offers more direct exposure.
Buying dips on hopes for long-term growth in the miners is an especially interesting strategy now because it is entirely possible that these stocks are becoming more like growth investments than ever before. Much of the recent strength in the materials fund comes the $85 billion copper miner Freeport-McMoRan ; Newmont, a $124 billion gold miner; and Albemarle, a $21 billion lithium miner.
Copper and lithium prices have surged because of a stronger global economic outlook and because electric vehicle batteries and data centers both require so much metal that the miners can't increase their supplies as fast as demand.
"With data center, if you look at demand for copper going out 10 years, it's going to massively outstrip supply," said Ben McMillan, chief investment officer of IDX Shares, which offers ETFs and mutual funds managing commodities and other assets.
That doesn't mean copper and lithium prices will no longer be volatile: They will be. Economic hard times in the U.S. or China will hit demand and prices.
But over the long term, the prices of both commodities could keep rising. With copper trading at almost $6 per pound today, a brief pullback to $5.25 would leave it looking fairly priced, says Chris Mancini, an equity portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds.
Long-term investors should consider buying Freeport-McMoRan or other large copper miners, such as Southern Copper and Teck Resources, when those stocks pull back from their current levels near record highs. Those comfortable assessing demand for lithium and electric vehicles should consider buying on dips in Albemarle stock, which is now near a multiyear high.
The key to remember is that buying the shares at reasonable prices yields the potential for large gains. When prices of commodities rise, sales rise by a similar percentage, but the companies' fixed costs don't change much. That expands profit margins and allows earnings to take off faster than sales.
The picture is brighter for gold as well. The price, on a tear for years, has gained another 10% in the past three months. The gains aren't likely to reverse because central banks worried about the long-term prospects of the dollar are buying the metal, and production by mining companies isn't keeping pace with the demand.
That spells higher prices, McMillan says, setting up the potential for higher profits at Newmont and the $84 billion Barrick Mining.
Times are changing, and so are commodity stocks.
Write to Jacob Sonenshine at [jacob.sonenshine@barrons.com]
Expected Major Events for Monday
00:01/UK: Jan Rightmove House Price Index
04:30/JPN: Nov Revised Industrial Production
04:30/JPN: Nov Tertiary Industry Index
09:30/UK: Oct Card Spending statistics
09:30/UK: S&P Global UK Consumer Sentiment Index
13:00/RUS: Weekly International Reserves
13:30/CAN: Nov New motor vehicle sales
13:30/CAN: Dec CPI
15:30/CAN: Bank of Canada Business Outlook Survey
All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.
Expected Earnings for Monday
AmeriServ Financial Inc $(ASRV)$ is expected to report for 4Q.
Commercial National Financial Corp (Pennsylvania) (CNAF) is expected to report for 4Q.
FRMO Corp (FRMO) is expected to report for 2Q.
FS Bancorp Inc (FSBW) is expected to report $1.13 for 4Q.
Nicolet Bankshares Inc $(NIC)$ is expected to report $2.24 for 4Q.
RCI Hospitality Holdings Inc $(RICK)$ is expected to report $0.58 for 4Q.
Powered by Factset and Dow Jones.
We offer an enhanced version of this briefing that is optimized for viewing on mobile devices and sent directly to your email inbox. If you would like to sign up, please go to https://newsplus.wsj.com/subscriptions.
This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 16, 2026 16:31 ET (21:31 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments