Equities were in positive country on Monday, as financial stocks pushed higher ahead of an expected U.S. Federal Reserve rate hike and as some mining stocks gained from higher commodity prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index acquired 20.78 points to greet noon at 15,527.46
The Canadian dollar gained 0.10 cents at 74.39 cents U.S.
Toronto-Dominion Bank was among the most influential gainers, recovering somewhat after a sharp fall on Friday following media reports which said staff had been put under pressure to meet sales targets.
TD rose 1.8% to $67.17 after falling 5.6% on Friday, and most other major banks also gained, helping the financials group hike.
Financial technology company DH Corp also gained, jumping 8.7% to $25.05, after Vista Equity Partners said it would take the company private in a $4.8-billion deal.
Base metal miners gained with copper and other industrial metal prices as a strike at Peru's top copper mine added to supply disruptions caused by a month-long stoppage at mines in Chile and Indonesia.
Teck Resources Ltd advanced 2.6% to $27.50 and First Quantum Minerals added 1.4% to $13.80.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 2.58 points to 801.77
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups moved higher midday, with gold better by 1.1%, information technology and materials each higher than 0.8%,
The five laggards were weighed most by telecoms, down 0.6%, with energy and real-estate each sliding 0.3%
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded in a range Monday as traders anticipated an interest rate hike on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrials lost 36.49 points by noon ET to 20,866.49. 3M and Caterpillar contributed the most to gains, while Boeing had the greatest negative impact. Morgan Stanley downgraded Boeing to equal weight from overweight.
The S&P 500 sifted off 1.97 points to 2,370.63. The financial sector attempted slight gains as one of the few advancers in the S&P 500 in late-morning trade.
The NASDAQ added 4.92 points to 5,866.64, helped by gains in Amazon.com, Alphabet and NVIDIA.
In corporate news, Intel announced it will buy Israeli driverless technology firm Mobileye for $15.3 billion U.S.
The Federal Open Market Committee is set to raise rates at the conclusion of its two-day meeting on Wednesday. Traders generally expect the Fed to hike three times this year, after the central bank raised rates in December for the second time in just about a decade.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note faded, raising yields to 2.59% from Friday’s 2.58%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 18 cents to $48.31 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices picked up $4.30 to $1,205.70 U.S. an ounce.
