Canadian stocks tore out of the starting blocks on Monday, helped by speculation that the United States and Japan will offer much easier monetary policy for some time, though uncertainty about the outcome of the closely-fought election in Italy could keep a lid on gains.
The S&P/TSX composite index progressed 127.05 points, or 1%, to open Monday at 12,828.68
The Canadian dollar faded a quarter of a cent to 97.55 cents U.S. early Monday
Sales of BlackBerry's make-or-break line of smartphones are running faster than expected, and the company has increased production to keep up. BlackBerry shares prospered 42 cents, or 3.1%, to $13.90.
Shares of Suncor Energy Inc and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd could gain more than 25% in the next year, helped by valuable asset bases that may attract activist investors, so said Barron's in its edition due out today. Suncor stock gained took on 62 cents, or 2%, to $30.99
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 5.56 points to 1,150.24
All 14 Toronto subgroups were in the green early Monday, led by gold, ahead 2%, while materials were better by 1.7% and information technology stocks garnered 1.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks opened higher Monday, following gains in overseas markets, as investors focused on politics and central bank developments.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average grew 119.95 points to begin the week at 14,000.60
The S&P 500 index gained 51.38 points to 1,525.21. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite added 16.83 points to 3,178.65
In corporate news, shares of Barnes & Noble shot higher after Chairman Leonard Riggio said he plans to buy the company's retail operations, leaving the Nook electronic book segment a separate company. No price was disclosed in his filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Lowe's reported lower sales and earnings, but both results were slightly better than forecasts and the company announced a $5-billion U.S. share repurchase.
Results are due later in the week from companies, including Home Depot, Macy's and Groupon.
Japanese media reports say that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is poised to nominate an advocate of aggressive monetary easing to head the Bank of Japan. The yen fell to the lowest point against the U.S. dollar since May 2010.
In Italy, results of the elections are not yet known. But late polls showed centre-left candidate Pier Luigi Bersani on track to defeat controversial three-time Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and ex-comedian Beppe Grillo, who is leading an anti-establishment movement.
Markets could react badly if Berlusconi, who has promised to undo some austerity measures, or Grillo were to win, as it would raise new doubts about the future of the euro.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury were lower, lifting yields to 1.99% from Friday’s 1.97%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 50 cents to $93.63 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices recovered $15.40 to $1,587.20 U.S. an ounce.
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