Equities in Toronto climbed on Monday, supported by advances in the financial sector and a jump in Catamaran Corp after UnitedHealth Group Inc agreed to buy the pharmacy benefit manager. .
The S&P/TSX composite index leaped 140.98 points to greet noon at 14,953.40. Markets are shuttered Friday for Good Friday.
The Canadian dollar faded 0.56 cents to 79.78 cents U.S.
Catamaran's shares shot up 25% to $76.05, helping drive a 7% gain in the health-care sector.
Financial shares progressed as Toronto Dominion Bank rose 1.1% to $53.74, and Bank of Nova Scotia was up 1% at $62.94.
The energy sector gained, shrugging off declines in oil prices. Suncor Energy Inc added 1.5% to $37.17, and Canadian Natural Resources rose 0.9% to $39.
In the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported that its industrial product price index improved 1.8% in February, largely as a result of higher prices for energy and petroleum products.
The agency also said its raw materials price index recovered 6.1% last month, mainly because of higher prices for crude energy products. for February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 1.41 points to 680.02
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher by midday, with health-care dazzling by 6.7%, consumer discretionary issues bolting 1.6%, and global base metals stronger by 1.3%.
The three laggards were gold, off 0.8%, metals and mining, down 0.3%, and information technology, slipping 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rebounded on Monday, amid encouraging talks of stimulus in Asia, as investors eyed the week's economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrials rocketed 272.49 points, or 1.5%, to 17,985.15, with JPMorgan Chase leading gains and Intel the only blue-chip lagging.
The S&P 500 grew 22.02 points, or 1%, to 2,083.04, as energy led gains across all 10 sectors.
The NASDAQ added 42.39 points to 4,933.60
UnitedHealth is buying pharmacy benefits manager Catamaran for $12.8 billion U.S. or $61.50 U.S. per share and combining it with its OptumRx unit.
The California-based biopharmaceutical company, Hyperion Therapeutics, is being bought by Ireland's Horizon Pharma for $1.1 billion U.S. in cash or $46 U.S. per share.
Auspex Pharmaceuticals is being bought by Teva for $101 U.S. per share, or $3.2 billion U.S. in cash. Auspex, which went public last year, specializes in treatments for patients with movement disorders and other rare diseases.
Personal income in February was mostly in-line with consensus, posting a gain of 0.4%, above expectations of 0.3%. Consumer spending rose 0.1%
Pending homes sales were up 3.1% in February, with gains driven primarily by sales in the West and Midwest.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained a bit of ground, lowering yields to 1.94% from Friday’s 1.95%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gave back a nickel to $48.82 U.S.
Gold prices slid $13.20 to $1,186.60 U.S.
