Canadian stocks extended gains on Monday, kicking off a new quarter on a positive note, as gold miners charged higher.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index grew by 114.88 points to end the day at 12,507.06
The Canadian dollar also marched ahead 0.56 cents to 100.97 cents U.S.
Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. jumped $1.46, or 4.4%, to $34.70, Teck Resources Ltd. rallied $1.00, or 2.8%, $36.61, while Kinross Gold Corp. triumphed 16 cents, or 1.6%, to $9.91, and Yamana Gold Inc. rose 22 cents, or 1.4%, to $15.78
Information technology issues suffered as Research In Motion Ltd. slumped 43 cents, or 2.9%, to $14.20.
Among energy plays, Imperial Oil zoomed 87 cents, or 1.9%, to $46.19, while Suncor added 56 cents, or 1.7%, to $33.15 and Canadian Natural Resources gained 67 cents, or 2%, to $33.73.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange poked ahead 3.40 points to 1,569.79, while the Nasdaq Canada index slid 2.45 points to 418.12
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups remained positive by noon hour. The metals and mining group climbed 1.6%, while materials and global base metals each fared 1.4%.
The two laggards were information technology, off 1.2%, and health-care sliding 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks rallied Monday on the first trading day in the second quarter, as investors found reason for optimism in the latest U.S. manufacturing numbers.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 52.64 points to close at 13,264.50, levels not seen since December 2007.
The S&P 500 jumped 10.22 points to 1,418.69, and the Nasdaq sprang up 28.13 points to 3,119.70
Investors appear to be gleaning positive market signals because prices rose less than expected in the March manufacturing report, signaling that inflation is not a big concern.
If history is any guide, though, April will be another strong month.
The S&P 500 has risen every April for the past five years, according to Schaeffer's Investment Research. The index has returned an average of 4.5% in April over the same period, making it the best month for the market by far.
Energy and materials stocks were among the biggest gainers, with mining company Freeport-McMoRan, agricultural firm Monsanto and United States Steel leading the rally.
Shares of cosmetics maker Avon Products spiked after competitor Coty announced that it had offered to acquire Avon for roughly $10 billion U.S. in cash.
Coty said in a statement that it had made "extensive but unsuccessful attempts to engage Avon in discussions regarding its proposal," and therefore decided to make the offer public in order to inform Avon shareholders. Coty added that it has no intention of pursuing a hostile takeover.
Credit card processor Global Payments continued to plunge, after falling 9% Friday on news that the company had fallen victim to a data breach, potentially compromising credit and debit card information from all of the major card brands, including Visa and MasterCard.
Shares of daily deals site Groupon were down more than 10%, after the company announced Friday that it was revising its fourth-quarter income and sales lower due to a higher rate of customers seeking refunds.
Groupon also said its auditor had discovered a deficiency in the site's financial statement close process, which covers the steps companies go through at the end of each quarter to ensure that all of their financial transactions have been accurately recorded and reported.
Still, market participants said trading was light Monday, and they expect the markets to stay mostly quiet this week ahead of Easter.
Heading into the trading day, investors digested manufacturing data from Europe and China, which gave insight into the strength of their economies. Investors were able to shrug off those reports, which painted a decidedly mixed picture of the health of the global economy.
On the economic slate, the March reading of the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing Index came in above expectations at 53.4, up from 52.4 last month, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com.
February construction spending declined by 1.1%, contrary to the predicted 0.5% increase.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury surged, driving yields down to 2.19% from Friday’s 2.22%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for May delivery moved $2.20 higher to $105.22 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery gained $8.20 to $1,677.50 U.S. an ounce.
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