Equity markets in Canada’s largest market were lifted by shares of health-care and tech firms on Monday, while energy companies got a boost as oil prices steadied after coming under pressure over the past month.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 93.83 points to march into noon hour at 15,286.27
The Canadian dollar recovered 0.1 cents to 75.79 cents U.S.
Among individual stocks, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc rose $1.08, or 6.4%, to $17.88, after activist investor and hedge fund manager John Paulson joined the company's board.
Royal Bank of Canada was up 68 cents at $94.23, followed by Toronto-Dominion Bank, which advanced 42 cents to $65.47.
Shares of Suncor Energy faded a cent to $39.25, while Canadian Natural Resources rose 36 cents, or nearly 1%, to $37.66.
U.S. activist investor Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC urged the management of Saks Fifth Avenue owner Hudson's Bay Co to explore strategic options, including going private.
The news sent shares of Hudson's Bay up $1.30, or 14.6%, to $10.20 and helped boost the consumer discretionary sector.
Shares of Bombardier advanced nine cents, or 3.4%, to $2.56, after the company said it had received seven more orders for its Q400 aircraft from Philippine Airlines.
Agnico Eagle Mines declined 57 cents to $61.43, while Kinross Gold was down three cents at $5.38.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 2.39 points to 778.30
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups remained positive midday, with health-care up 2.4%, information technology ahead 2.1%, and consumer discretionary stocks up 1.3%
The lone laggard was in consumer staples, down 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded higher on Monday as technology stocks tried to recover from a wobbly performance last week.
The Dow Jones Industrials galloped 113.91 points to 21,498.19, surpassing a previous all-time high of 21,391.97, which was set last week.
The S&P 500 tacked on 16.69 points to 2,449.84, also to trade at a record, with information technology rising 1.4% to lead advancers.
The NASDAQ propelled higher 71.1 points, or 1.2%, to 6,222.86.
Large-cap technology stocks like Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet all rose approximately 1% in early trade.
Last week, valuation concerns sent the overall sector lower by around 0.8%. Tech is by far the best-performing sector of the year, rising 17.2%.
Several tech CEOs, including Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Apple's Tim Cook were slated to meet with President Donald Trump as the administration sets its sights on dramatic spending cuts.
There are no major economic data due Monday, but Wall Street paid attention to remarks from a key Federal Reserve official.
Before the bell, New York Fed President Bill Dudley said the central bank inflation should pick up as wages rise along with continuing improvement in the labour market.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dropped off, raising yields to 2.17% from Friday’s 2.15%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices settled 15 cents to $44.59 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices faltered $7.20 to $1,249.30 U.S. an ounce.
