Equities in Canada’s largest centre opened higher on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would postpone military strikes on Iranian energy facilities, easing fears of a major escalation in the war.
The TSX sprang 545.66 points, or 1.7%, to begin the week at 31,863,07
The dollar inched up 0.20 cents to 72.96 cents U.S.
Investors will monitor transportation headlines after an Air Canada Express CRJ-900 collided with a Port Authority emergency vehicle on the LaGuardia runway late Sunday, killing the pilot and co-pilot and injuring more than a dozen others, according to U.S. authorities.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 16.72 points, or 2.7%, to 928.25.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher in the first hour Monday, led by gold, soaring 4.3%, materials, muscling 4.1%, and information technology, better by 3.7%.
The two laggards were energy, sliding 0.9%, and utilities, off 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rallied after President Donald Trump said the U.S. and Iran have held talks and that he was halting strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure, giving investors hope that the Middle East conflict that spiked oil prices and raised fears of a global recession was nearing an end.
The Dow Jones Industrials recaptured 984.68 points, or 2.2%, to 45,562.15.
The S&P 500 index hiked 135.15 points, or 2.1%, to 6,641.83
The NASDAQ pushed ahead 500.83 points, or 2.2%, to 22,148.44.
Before Trump’s comments, futures were pointing to more losses for equity markets under siege from skyrocketing oil prices and uncertainty about the duration of the Iran conflict. But after Trump’s comments, Dow futures briefly surged more than 1,000 points.
Trump’s announcement came as the Iran war entered its fifth week, with tensions escalating over the weekend on an ultimatum from the president.
Trump had threatened an attack on Iranian power plants in 48 hours if the Strait of Hormuz — a key shipping route for oil and other energy products — wasn’t reopened. Iran in turn said it would target U.S. infrastructure, including energy and desalination facilities in the Gulf, if the U.S. carried out its threat.
It was a broad rebound during the session, with cyclical shares like banks and industrials surging as well as technology shares.
JPMorgan Chase climbed more than 2%, while Morgan Stanley was 3% higher. Caterpillar added 3%, while Deere climbed 1%.
Nvidia and Apple were both higher by 2%. Airline stocks such as Delta Air Lines and United Airlines were up 3% and 4%, respectively, as the price of oil slid.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury flew, lowering yields back to 4.34% from Friday’s 4.38%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices waned $9.46 to $88.77 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices paled $89.40 to $4,485.50 U.S. an ounce.
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