Stocks in Canada’s largest market gained on Monday, as energy shares rose on a jump in oil prices and several major banks benefited from investor positioning ahead of quarterly earnings this week.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index were off their highs of the morning, but still positive 107.09 points to greet noon at 12,920.49.
The Canadian dollar improved 0.43 cents to 73.06 cents U.S.
The energy group climbed, with pipeline operator Enbridge Inc advancing 3.3% to $44.57.
Major oil sands operator Suncor Energy Inc gained 2.2% to $33.57 and Canadian Natural Resources rose 2.9% to $28.90.
Other influential gainers included several of the index's heavyweight banks that are lining up to report quarterly results later this week.
Bank of Montreal, which will be the first of the main six banks to report when it releases its results on Tuesday, gained 1% to $75.14.
Toronto-Dominion Bank was up 1% to $52.96, and Bank of Nova Scotia advanced 1.1% to $56.64. The financials group gathered steam.
A 6.4% fall in Valeant Pharmaceuticals to $109.51 pushed the health-care sector lower.
Teck Resources Ltd advanced 17.1% to $9.54, extending a sharp rally in recent days.
Copper prices gained 1.5% to $4,689 U.S. a tonne, while gold futures fell
However, Barrick Gold shares gained 0.6% to $17.37 after the world's largest gold miner said it would spend about $2 billion on projects in Nevada and Peru for construction starting in 2019.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 2.01 points to 532.80
All but two of the 13 TSX subgroups were higher, with metals and mining skyrocketing 9.5%, energy surging 2.5%, and information technology better by 1.6%.
The two laggards were health-care, sagging 1.9%, and gold, dulling in price 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded more than 1% higher Monday, trying to build on their best weekly gain of 2016, as oil prices climbed.
The Dow Jones industrial average leaped 215.45 points, or 1.3%, to 16,607.44, to trade within 10% of its 52-week intraday high, out of correction territory on an intraday basis. UnitedHealth led all gainers
The S&P 500 took on 24.04 points, or 1.3%, to 1,941.82, or out of correction, with energy and materials leading advancers.
The NASDAQ index gained 60.67 points, or 1.4%, to 4,565.09,
Copper and other industrial metals also climbed, helping shares of Freeport-McMoRan gain more than 10% in midday trade. Alcoa traded about 10% higher.
In U.S. economic news, the flash read on Markit Manufacturing PMI for February was 51.0, down from the final January print of 52.4.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury faded, raising yields to 1.76% from Friday’s 1.75%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recouped $2.04 a barrel to $31.68 U.S.
Gold prices slumped $16.02 to $1,210.78 U.S. an ounce.
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