Stocks in Canada’s largest centre jumped at the open on Tuesday, with a surge in copper prices and other commodities boosting the mining sector and financial stocks also making healthy gains.
The S&P/TSX composite index vaulted 189.05 points, or 1.4%, to start the day and a short week at 13,667.36
The Canadian dollar recouped 0.38 cents to 75.54 cents U.S.
Markets in North America were closed Monday for Labour Day.
Concordia Healthcare Corp said it would buy Amdipharm Mercury Ltd from private equity firm Cinven in a deal valued at $3.5 billion. The deal gives Concordia a portfolio of more than 190 niche pharmaceutical products.
Concordia shares lost $4.58, or 4.1%, to $106.02.
Emera Inc will acquire U.S. electric and gas utility holding company Teco Energy Inc for $6.44 billion to expand in the United States. The deal is valued at $10.4 billion including the assumption of about $3.9 billion in debt, the companies said in a statement.
Emera shares skidded $1.85, or 4.2%, to $42.20.
Potash Corp of Saskatchewan has hired a third investment bank as adviser in its effort to take over German fertiliser maker K+S a German newspaper reported on Sunday. Bank of America Merrill Lynch will join Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank in advising the Canadians in the effort, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper said, without citing sources.
Potash shares acquired 39 cents, or 1.2%, to $34.19.
Barclays cut the target price on Canadian Oil Sands to $6.00 from $7.00, saying as commodity prices fall, energy companies are faced with lower rates of reinvestment, and accordingly a growth outlook that is negative for most companies.
Oil Sands shares took on a penny to $6.28.
Barclays raised the target price on Dollarama to $76.00 from $73.00, says the company was able to do a better job of protecting gross margins from forex pressure in first quarter.
Dollarama shares gained $3.07, or 4%, to $79.00
Evertz Technologies expects Q1 earnings of 24 cents per share. Shares in Evertz gained a dime to $15.97.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange leaped 5.75 points, or 1%, to at 558.36
All but two of the 14 TSX subgroups were higher, led by metals and mining, ballooning 5.7%, global base metals, 3.6% mightier, and industrials, better by 2.1%.
The two dissenters were in gold, down 0.9%, and energy, doffing 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded sharply higher Tuesday, trying for recovery after the long weekend and their second-worst week for the year.
The Dow Jones industrial average moved skyward 258.97 points, or 1.6%, to 16,361.35. Wal-Mart surged more than 3% to lead nearly all blue chips higher.
The S&P 500 recovered 30.36 points, or 1.6%, to 1,951.58.
The NASDAQ index leaped 85.96 points, or 1.8%, to 4,769.88, briefly rising into the black for 2015. Apple gained more than 2.5%, helping information technology lead all 10 S&P 500 sectors higher.
On matters macroeconomic, the National Federation of Independent Business said on Tuesday its Small Business Optimism Index rose modestly in August, up half a point to 95.9. The gain suggests the economy continued to grow at a steady clip halfway through the third quarter.
Data released Tuesday showed China's dollar-denominated exports declined by 5.5% year-on-year in August, while imports tumbled 13.8%.
On Monday, China's foreign exchange reserves posted their biggest monthly fall on record in August, reflecting Beijing's attempts to halt a slide in the yuan and stabilize financial markets following its surprise move to devalue the currency last month.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries faltered, raising yields to 2.18% from Friday’s 2.13%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid $1.14 a barrel to $44.91 U.S.
Gold prices inched up 10 cents to $1,121.50 U.S. an ounce.
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