Stock markets in Toronto looked set to extend the previous session's gains on Monday after Larry Summers' surprise withdrawal of his candidacy from the race to become the next chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve raised investors' hopes of a relaxed taper of the central bank's monetary easing policy.
The S&P/TSX composite index jumped 22.35 points to close the day and week at 12,727.40, and futures up 0.3%.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.14 cents to 97.06 cents U.S. early Monday
Aimia struck a deal with Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce under which TD will be the issuer of Aeroplan credit cards and acquire half of CIBC's existing portfolio, with CIBC retaining the rest.
Barrick Gold could see its stock rebound if it attracts an activist shareholder who prompts management to quicken its pace in shedding assets, according to a story in Barron's.
A handful of potential bidders, including private equity firms, are lining up to look at BlackBerry, but initial indications suggest that interest is tepid and buyers are eyeing parts of the smartphone maker rather than the whole company.
Bombardier Inc. is targeting Monday for the first flight of its all-new CSeries jetliner, weather permitting, the planemaker said on Friday.
Northern Dynasty reported that mining group Anglo American has pulled out of the Pebble copper project in Alaska, one of the largest undeveloped copper deposits in the world but also an environmentally challenging operation that has been studied for almost three decades.
On the economic slate this morning, Statistics Canada reported that foreigners bought more Canadian securities, adding $6.1 billion to their holdings in July, following a $15.4-billion divestment in June. Meanwhile, Canadian investment in foreign securities slowed to $0.9 billion and focused on bonds.
Moreover, the Canadian Real Estate Association was due this morning to release new home sale figures for August this morning.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 1.11 points to close Friday at 941.50
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks are set to extend their September run Monday, with the S&P 500 near a record, as investors welcome the withdrawal of Larry Summers from the race to become next chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials climbed 167 points, or 1.1%, to 15,478. Futures for the S&P 500 hiked 17.60 points, or 1% to 1,699.60, and futures for the NASDAQ vaulted 35.25 points, or 1.1%, at 3,206.75
U.S. stock futures and global markets were pushing higher as investors now anticipate Janet Yellen will take over as Fed chairman.
Investors are excited at the prospect of Yellen taking over from current Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, since she is widely expected to pursue a similar policy of stimulating the economy to bring the unemployment rate down.
Investors had been concerned that Summers, the previous frontrunner for the top Fed job, would have been more aggressive at pulling back on the monetary stimulus measures that have been pumping cash into the system and supporting stock markets around the world.
Meanwhile, Saturday's announcement that the U.S. and Russia had created a framework to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons may also support a positive sentiment.
The threat of imminent U.S.-led military strikes against Syria has now faded to the background, but it had caused a significant amount of market volatility and spikes in oil prices. The price of light crude oil is now easing.
Looking to the day ahead, the New York branch of the U.S. Federal Reserve will publish its monthly manufacturing survey. Also this morning, the Census Bureau will release reports on industrial production and capacity utilization.
European markets were solidly higher in morning trading, with Germany's Dax leading the way with a gain of more than 1%.
Most Asian markets were climbing, though markets in Japan are closed for a holiday.
Oil prices fell $1.65 to $106.56 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $2.40 to $1,311 U.S. an ounce.
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