Canada's main stock index rose on Monday, as financial shares gained and after Bank of Canada chief showed comfort with inflation running above the central bank's 2% target.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index chugged along 85.32 points to greet noon at 15,559.64
The Canadian dollar backtracked 1.11 cents to 77.85 cents U.S.
The heavyweight financial sector was boosted by Toronto-Dominion Bank and Royal Bank of Canada which were up about 0.5%.
The energy sector was dragged down by Cenovus Energy trading 12 cents, or 1%, lower to $12.16, though Suncor Energy was up 12 cents to $48.92.
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was The Stars Group, which rose $4.80, or 12.9%, to $42.16. The Canadian gaming company on Saturday had agreed to buy Sky Betting and Gaming from owners CVC Capital Partners and Sky Plc, in a deal worth $4.7 billion.
The largest decliner was Tahoe Resources, down 41 cents, or 6%, to $6.46, after the company on Saturday reported a labour strike at its La Arena mine in Peru.
Among the most active Canadian stocks by volume were Athabasca Oil Co, Aurora Cannabis and Katanga Mining.
Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said he expects the inflation rate to be above 2% in 2018, but he is comfortable with that as long as the long-term trend is steady, according to reports on Sunday.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that wholesale trade in Canada backtracked 0.8% to $62.8 billion in February, the largest downward movement and the second monthly drop since September 2017.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange docked 6.77 points to 798.19
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive midday, as industrials and consumer discretionary stocks each improved 1.2%, and consumer staples climbed 1%.
The three laggards were materials, down 0.7%, health-care, ailing 0.6%, and gold, sagging 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose slightly on Monday, though a rise in interest rates capped gains for the major indexes.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked up 3.35 points to 24,466.29, with Merck as the best-performing stock in the index.
The S&P 500 captured 6.17 points to 2,676.31, with consumer discretionary as the best-performing sector.
The NASDAQ Composite index regained 20.94 points to 7,167.07
Wall Street also braced for the busiest week of the earnings season. More than 170 companies are expected to have released their quarterly results by the end of the week, including Alphabet, 3M, Amazon and Chevron.
Hasbro, Halliburton and Alaska Air all posted quarterly results before the bell Monday. Shares of Hasbro regained $2.68, or 3.2% to $85.49, after its earnings and sales fell short of estimates. Halliburton's quarterly profit matched analyst expectations, while its revenue missed.
Alaska Air reported a stronger-than-expected profit but disappointing revenue.
Overall, this earnings season has been strong thus far. More than 82% of S&P 500 companies that have reported through Monday morning have topped earnings estimates
Elsewhere in corporate news, shares of Merck rose 96 cents, or 1.6%, to $59.78 after an upgrade from Goldman Sachs. Analysts at the investment bank said the Dow member's sales could boom because of Keytruda, a blockbuster drug used to treat lung cancer.
Caterpillar climbed 1.1% after Citi raised its rating on the Dow component, citing a construction rebound in China. Citi also points to positive estimate revisions and increased capital returns as reasons for the upgrade.
Lululemon slipped 0.1% after Needham said it faces headwinds from strong year-over-year sales comparisons moving forward.
The 10-year Treasury note yield hit a high of 2.99%, threatening once again to reach 3%. The benchmark rate last traded at 3% or higher in January 2014. Investors have been selling Treasurys this month — pushing yields higher — amid expectations of rising inflation, which could prompt the Federal Reserve to tighten monetary policy at a faster pace.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dropped, raising yields to 2.99% from Friday’s 2.96%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid 34 cents a barrel to $68.05 U.S.
Gold prices fell $12.70 to $1,325.60 U.S. an ounce.
