Equities in Canada’s biggest market opened higher on Monday in broad gains helped in part by financial stocks, but Home Capital Group shares fell sharply on news its account balance halved and said it had suspended its dividend.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index acquired 48.66 points to open the day and the week at 15,630.70
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.1 cents at 73.07 cents U.S.
Hudson's Bay Co has hired a debt restructuring adviser to review potential options for combining its business with debt-laden U.S. department store operator Neiman Marcus Group, according to people familiar with the matter.
Bay shares nicked up a penny to $11.32.
Home Capital, Canada's biggest non-bank mortgage lender, said the balance in its high-interest savings accounts is expected to slump to about $192 million on Monday, down 50% from a week ago.
Home Capital shares plummeted 35 cents, or 6%, to $5.50.
CIBC cut the target price on AutoCanada Inc. to $19.00 from $20.00. AutoCanada shares doffed 29 cents, or 1.4%, to $21.06.
JP Morgan raised the target price on BCE Inc. to $66.00 from $64.00. BCE shares were static at $62.11.
Barclays raises the target price on Canadian Tire to $180 from $167 with an overweight rating. Canadian Tire shares improved 27 cents to $166.56.
In the economic docket, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that the seasonally-adjusted annual rate of housing starts trended higher at 213,768 units in April, compared to 210,702 units in March
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 3.76 points to 785.48
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive, as energy vaulted 0.8%, consumer discretionary stocks moved up 0.5%, and information technology gained 0.4%.
The four laggards were weighed most by gold, off 0.3%, while materials and health-care retreated 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks south of the border were just south of the flatline as the week began, despite a narrow trading range as investors digested Emmanuel Macron's victory over Marine Le Pen in the French presidential election.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 23.8 points to 20,983.14, with IBM contributing the most losses.
The S&P 500 lost 2.49 to 2,396.80
The NASDAQ slid 7.62 points to 6,093.14
In U.S. economic news, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester spoke before the open.
Mester — a known hawk in the Fed's policymaking committee — said in a speech: "We have met the maximum employment part of our mandate and inflation is nearing our 2% goal."
Macron cruised to win the French presidency, securing at least 65% of the vote. Investors across the globe largely expected this outcome as most polls projected the 39-year-old to win.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note faded, raising yields to 2.37% from Friday’s 2.35%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 35 cents at $46.57 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices added $3.30 at $1,230.20 U.S. an ounce.
