Canada's main stock index rose at the open on Monday, for the first time in six sessions, as appetite for riskier assets improved around the globe after a report sparked hopes of a trade truce between the United States and China.
The TSX Composite Index recovered 43.84 points to begin Monday at 16,998.68
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.08 cents to 75.12 cents U.S.
Kirkland Lake Gold said on Monday it would buy smaller rival Detour Gold Corp for about $4.89 billion in an all-stock deal, as it looks to scale up its mining operations and boost reserves.
Kirkland Lake shares tumbled $9.76, or 15.4%, to $53.56, while Detour galloped 86 cents, or 3.9%, to $23.07.
BHP Group will pay 17.1 million pounds ($21.9 Million U.S.) to become the biggest shareholder in SolGold Plc, the majority owner of the Cascabel copper-gold project in Ecuador.
SolGold shares nicked ahead half a cent, or 1.2%, to 41 cents.
Canaccord Genuity raises the price target on Bank of Nova Scotia to $77 from $74. Scotiabank shares began the day up 16 cents to $75.72.
Canaccord Genuity also raised the price target on CI Financial to $25 from $23.50. CI shares acquired six cents to $20.81.
Moreover, Canaccord Genuity raised the target price on Canadian Western Bank to $36.00 from $34.00. Western Bank shares faded 16 cents to $35.73.
On matters economic, Statistics Canada reports wholesale trade rose 1.0% to $65.1 billion in September, almost entirely offsetting the 1.2% decline in August.
Sales were up in five of seven sub-sectors, representing 82% of total wholesale sales.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 2.11 points to 532.13
All but three of the 12 Toronto subgroups were higher in the first hour, led by health-care, haler by 1.9%, consumer staples, hiking 1%, and information technology, clicking higher 0.6%.
The three laggards were weighed most by gold, sagging 0.6%, while energy and materials each faded 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Monday as Wall Street looked for the market’s rally to record highs to resume amid increasing expectations that China and the U.S. will reach a so-called phase one trade deal.
The Dow Jones Industrials spiked 120.40 points to 27,996.02, and remained within 0.5% of reaching its all-time high.
The S&P 500 strengthened 16.88 points to 3,127.17, the highest it’s ever been.
The NASDAQ picked up 77.53 points to 8,597.42, a new all-time peak.
Tech was the best-performing sector in the S&P 500, rising 0.9%. Nvidia led the sector higher with a 4.5% gain. Intel’s 1.5% advance led the Dow higher. The NASDAQ was lifted by a 1% rise in Apple shares while Amazon traded 1.4% higher.
The S&P 500 is up nearly 25% in 2019, and is headed for its biggest one-year gain since 2013. The NASDAQ, meanwhile, has rallied nearly 30% year to date, on pace for its best yearly performance in six years. The Dow is up 20% year to date. That would be the 30-stock averages best annual gain since 2017.
Sentiment also got a lift on Monday after two big deals in Corporate America were confirmed.
Charles Schwab confirmed it will acquire rival TD Ameritrade for $26 billion in an all-stock deal. The deal, upon completion, will create a new company with more than $5 trillion in assets. TD Ameritrade shares rose 2.7% while Schwab’s stock dipped 1.4%.
LVMH has reached a deal to buy jeweler Tiffany for $16.2 billion in cash, or $135 per share. The acquisition is expected to close in the middle of 2020. Tiffany shares advanced 5.8%.
On the data front, Dallas Fed manufacturing figures for November will be released at around 10:30 a.m. ET.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury moved slightly upward, lowering yields to 1.76% from Friday’s 1.77%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices removed 14 cents to $57.63 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $5.90 to $1,457.70 U.S. an ounce.
