Canada's main stock index rose marginally at the open on Monday, as investors fled to the safety of gold, which boosted the materials sector.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index improved 25.16 points to begin Monday and the month of June at 16,062.65
The Canadian dollar regained 0.18 cents to 74.12 cents U.S.
Canaccord Genuity raised the price target on B2Gold Corp. to $5.75 from $5.25. B2Gold shares climbed seven cents, or 1.9%, to $3.76.
Raymond James raised rating on Centerra Gold to "outperform" from "market perform", and raises target price to $10.00 from $9.00. Centerra picked up 28 cents, or 3.6%, to $8.02.
On the economic calendar, IHS Markit Canada reported that its Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index dropped from 49.7 in April to 49.1 in May, signaling a second successive monthly deterioration in business conditions.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recouped 1.27 points to 602.82.
All but three of the 12 Toronto subgroups gained ground to begin Monday, with gold higher by 1.1%, materials stronger 1%, and health-care haler 0.4%.
The three laggards were consumer discretionary issues, down 0.2%, communications on the blink 0.1%, and financials listing 0.02% lower.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks traded lower on Monday, the first trading day of June, after China’s rhetoric on U.S. trade relationship intensified over the weekend.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell 40.98 points to 24,774.06. The Dow came into Monday’s session having logged in six straight weeks of losses, the index’s longest weekly slide since 2011.
The S&P 500 doffed 7.88 points to 2,744.18.
The NASDAQ Composite sank 69.1 points to 7,384.63, dragged down by Alphabet and Facebook shares.
Shares of Boeing, a trade bellwether of global trade, fell 2.2%. Alphabet shares dropped 6.2% after the Justice Department is reportedly investigating the tech company for anti-trust violations. Facebook also fell nearly 4% on broader worries that the technology sector could face tougher regulations in the future.
On the data front, a final reading of manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) showed manufacturing activity slowed to its slowest pace since September 2009. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing index for May, construction spending figures for April and latest light vehicle sales data will all follow slightly later in the session.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury climbed slightly, lowering yields to 2.11% from Friday’s 2.13%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 41 cents to $53.91 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added $10.30 at $1,321.40 U.S. an ounce.
