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Stock markets in Canada’s biggest centre opened higher on Monday after Hurricane Irma weakened overnight and North Korea did not conduct a missile test over the weekend for its 69th anniversary, with financial stocks and Tahoe Resources leading the rally.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 76.57 points to begin the day and week at 15,061.89
The Canadian dollar gained 0.06 cents to 82.34 cents U.S.
Tahoe skyrocketed $2.37, or 41.7%, to $8.06.
Eldorado Gold said it would suspend investment at its Greek mines and development projects, blaming regulatory hurdles for halting one of the biggest investments in Greece since it sank into a debt crisis.
Eldorado shares faded 11 cents, or 4.1%, to $2.38.
RBC cut the price target on Enghouse Systems to $60.00 from $62.00. Enghouse shares dipped a cent to $50.45.
Citigroup raised the price target on Methanex Corp to $50 from $48. Methanex shares gained 18 cents to $60.78.
Irma pounded heavily populated areas of central Florida on Sunday, but gradually lost strength, weakening to a Category 1 hurricane overnight and is expected to weaken to a tropical storm during the day.
The United States and its allies had been bracing for another long-range missile launch for the 69th anniversary of North Korea's founding on Saturday, but its leader Kim Jong Un hosted a massive celebration instead.
Economically speaking, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in August increased compared with July. CMHC says housing starts came in at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 223,232 units for August, up from 221,974 in July.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 0.53 points to 771.46
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups are up so far, with health-care advancing 1.2%, information technology ahead 1%, and financials climbing 0.7%.
Gold was the lone naysayer, dropping back 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose sharply on Monday as the damage from Hurricane Irma didn't appear to be as bad as feared.
The Dow Jones Industrials zoomed 209.67 points, or 1%, to 22,007.46, with Apple and insurer Travelers Cos. contributing the most to the gains.
The S&P 500 hiked 22.04 points to 2,483.47, with information technology and financials rising more than 1% to lead all higher.
The NASDAQ popped 77.51 points, or 1.2%, to 6,437.54, as large-cap technology stocks like Facebook and Apple rose.
The three indexes also turned positive for the month.
AIR Worldwide, a catastrophe modeling firm, said Monday it expects industry insured losses stemming from Hurricane Irma to range between $20 billion and $40 billion.
Hurricanes have put markets on edge over recent weeks, as investors show signs of unease when it comes to assessing the impact of these natural disasters on certain markets, including insurance and airlines.
Shares of Travelers Cos., Progressive and American International Group rose 2.7%, 2.2% and 0.5%, respectively.
Shares of re-insurers, who could have been on the hook for extensive Florida damage because smaller insurers in the state are their customers, surged.
Everest Re Group and XL Group saw their shares soar 5.2% and 5% respectively, and were the best performers in the S&P 500.
Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines' stock climbed 2.2% while American Airlines rose 2.9%. Carnival, a cruise line company, also saw its shares advance 2.8%.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note weakened, boosting yields to 2.11% from Friday’s 2.06%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 33 cents to $47.15
Gold prices faded $12.30 to $1,388.90 U.S. an ounce.
