Canada's main stock index rose for the first time in six sessions on Monday, 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 gained 81.49 points to pause for lunch at 17,036.33
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.07 cents to 75.13 cents U.S.
Detour Gold Corp jumped 79 cents, or 3.6%, to $23.00, after bigger rival Kirkland Lake Gold agreed to buy the miner for about $4.89 billion in an all-stock deal. Kirkland Lake shares fell $10.04, or 15.9%, to $53.28.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were shares of Hexo Corp., which jumped 15 cents, or 5.3% followed by Detour Gold (see above)
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 added 1.26 points to 531.28
All but three of the 12 Toronto subgroups were higher midday, co-led by consumer discretionary and staples stocks, vaulting 1.4% each, while energy picked up 0.7%.
The three laggards were weighed most by gold, dulling 0.9%, while utilities and materials each faded 0.1%.
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 122.07 points to 27,997.69, and remained within 0.5% of reaching its all-time high.
The S&P 500 strengthened 19.19 points to 3,129.48, the highest it’s ever been.
The NASDAQ vaulted 99.92 points to 8,619.80, a new all-time peak.
Tech was the best-performing sector in the S&P 500, rising 1.2%. Nvidia led the sector higher with a 4.2% gain. Intel’s 1.6% advance led the Dow higher. The NASDAQ was lifted by a 1% rise in Apple shares while Amazon traded 1.6% 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%.
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 regained six cents to $57.83 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $6.30 to $1,457.30 U.S. an ounce.
