Equities in Canada’s largest centre opened higher on Monday with energy stocks tracking a jump in oil prices as concerns around the Omicron coronavirus variant eased.
The S&P/TSX Composite advanced 93.53 points to begin Monday and the week at 20,726.80.
The Canadian dollar recovered 0.12 cents at 78.13 cents U.S.
Canadian National Railway said on Sunday it resumed operations in the crucial Kamloops-to-Vancouver corridor in the flood-hit province of British Columbia. CN shares chugged ahead $1.58, or 1%, to $165.62.
The Trans Mountain pipeline will restart operations on Sunday, weeks after shutting down during a record-breaking rainstorm in British Columbia that washed out road and railways, Trans Mountain Corp said in a statement on Saturday.
RBC raised the target price on Bank of Montreal to $154.00 from $146.00. BMO shares gained 87 cents to $138.85.
CIBC cut the target price on First Quantum Minerals to $37.00 from $38.50. First Quantum picked up 24 cents to $27.23.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 17.4 points, or 1.9%, to 879.73.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were making headway, with consumer staples up 1.3%, real-estate better by 1.1%, and consumer discretionary shares improving 1%.
The three laggards were health-care, sliding 0.9%, information technology, down 0.5%, and materials off 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped on Monday and the NASDAQ Composite lagged as investors looked past the emerging threat from the omicron COVID-19 variant, rotating out of high-priced technology shares and into names linked to the recovering economy.
The 30-stock index barrelled ahead 442.62 points, or 1.3%, first thing Monday to 35,022.70
The S&P 500 index regained 23.43 points to 4,561.86.
The NASDAQ fell, however, 34.52 points, to 15,050.95.
High-priced tech shares were lower, continuing a de-risking theme in markets. Nvidia was off by 4.5% while Tesla fell nearly 3%. Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet were also lower.
Stocks linked to the reopening of the economy gained on Monday, boosting sentiment on the Dow. Boeing and Chevron shares were in the green.
United and Delta Airlines shares jumped about 5%. Carnival gained almost 3% and Wynn Resorts shares were up by about 2%.
Prices for 10-year Treasurys fell backward, raising yields to 1.38% from Friday’s 1.36%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices surged $1.61 to $67.87 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $3.90 to $1,780.00 U.S. an ounce.
