Equities in Toronto moved into positive territory by session’s end, powered largely by gains in the energy and telecoms field.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fought its way into the green 21.25 points to close Monday at 15,629.75
The Canadian dollar eked lower 0.13 cents at 74.59 cents U.S.
Among energy issues – the sector which lent the index the most muscle – Baytex Energy gushed 22 cents, or 4.6%, to $5.03, while Birchcliff Energy zoomed 12 cents, or 1.7%, to $7.00.
Telecoms also had a good day of it, with BCE Inc. gaining 25 cents to $58.23, and TELUS Corp. moving 35 cents to $43.37.
Among financials, TD Bank surged 68 cents, or close to 1%, to $70.30, while RBC prospered 84 cents to $99.13.
Gold took a pounding, however, restricting overall gains on the market, as Goldcorp lost 18 cents to $20.07, while Barrick Gold slumped 35 cents, or 1.4%, to $24.08.
Among materials, Teck Resources handed back 67 cents, or 2.5%, to $26.63, while First Quantum Minerals capsized 44 cents, or 2.9%, to $14.82.
In the health-care sector, Valeant Pharmaceuticals slouched 82 cents, or 4.7%, to $16.66, while Canopy Growth Corporation gave up four cents to $11.76.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange plummeted 8.21 points, or 1%, to 810.25
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided between gainers and losers, as energy jumped 0.7%, telecoms hiked 0.6%, and financials advanced 0.5%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by gold, suffering 2.9%, materials off 2%, and health-care, sauntering 1.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
Equities on the other side of the border fell on Monday as the chances of tighter monetary policy from the U.S. Federal Reserve sank in for investors, while geopolitical concerns increased.
The Dow Jones Industrials were 51.37 points to the bad, at 20,954.34, with Travelers the company contributing the most losses.
The S&P 500 surrendered 7.81 points to 2,375.31, with financials and materials leading decliners.
The NASDAQ dipped 21.58 points to 5,849.17.
Experts put market expectations for a rate hike at 86.4% Monday. The Fed's monetary policy committee is set to meet Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.
The only potential obstacle for the Fed to raise rates at this point is the February jobs report, which is scheduled for release on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters expect the U.S. economy to have added 186,000 jobs last month.
Investors also kept an eye on the geopolitical front after North Korea fired four ballistic missiles Monday, three of which landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell, raising yields to 2.49% from Friday’s 2.48%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slipped 11 cents to $53.22 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices eked up 10 cents to $1,226.60 U.S. an ounce.
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