Equities in Canada’s largest exchange advanced in a broad-based rally on Monday, as a surprise recovery in China's factory activity spurred demand for equities globally.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index sprang up 90.03 points to greet Monday’s noon at 16,192.12
The Canadian dollar edged ahead 0.07 cents at 74.97 cents U.S.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Lundin Mining, climbing 32 cents, or 5.2%, to $6.52, and Cenovus Energy, up 36 cents, or 3.1%, to $11.96.
BlackBerry fell 59 cents, or 4.4%, to $12.88, the most on the TSX, after a 13% surge in the previous session following the company's better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.
First Majestic Silver staged a monster comeback from negative territory, gaining 38 cents, or 2.5%, to $15.53.
On the economic beat, Canada’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index registered 50.5 in March, down from 52.6 in February and only slightly above the neutral 50.0 mark.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nicked backward 1.4 points to 625.49
Seven of the 12 Toronto subgroups went negative by noon, weighed most by gold, dulling in 1.1%, real-estate, down 0.5%, and utilities, off 0.4%.
The five gainers were led handsomely by consumer discretionary stocks, skyrocketing 1.8%, energy, gushing 1.3%, and financials, booming 1.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks jumped on Monday as strong manufacturing data out of the U.S. and China eased worries of a possible global economic slowdown.
The Dow Jones Industrials zoomed 249.72 points to 26,133.14 -- breaking above 26,000 — led by gains in United Technologies and Caterpillar.
The S&P 500 added 20.02 points to 2,854.42, as the financials sector outperformed.
The NASDAQ Composite gained 51.55 points to 7,780.87, on gains from Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet.
Monday's gains came after the S&P 500 notched last week its best start to a year since 1998 and its strongest quarterly performance since 2009. The broad index gained 13.1% in the first quarter, led by the technology sector.
Bank stocks rose broadly. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase all traded at least 2% higher.
U.S. manufacturing activity expanded last month, rebounding from its lowest level since late 2016, according to data from the Institute for Supply Management. The Dow and S&P 500 jumped to their highs of the day on the data.
The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index jumped to 50.8 in March — its highest level in eight months — after economists polled by Refinitiv expected a print of 49.9. A number above 50 indicates expansion; a number below 50 shows contraction.
In other news boosting markets, the U.S. and China recently concluded their latest round of trade talks. U.S. officials last week said China had made proposals on a number of issues — including forced technology transfers — that go further than previous commitments.
The two superpowers are set to resume talks in Washington this week. Both countries have targeted billions of dollars' worth of each other's goods with tariffs in their protracted trade dispute.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell hard, raising yields to 2.49% from Friday’s 2.41%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices added 87 cents to $61.01 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices settled $2.10 to $1,296.40 U.S. an ounce.
