Stocks in Canada’s biggest centre somehow kept their heads above water on the last day of October, as losses in health-care plays counterbalanced gains in gold and information technology stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite nicked up 2.11 points to close Monday at 14,787.40.
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.19 cents to 74.46 cents U.S.
Gold stocks lead gains, as Kinross Gold zoomed 18 cents, or 3.6%, to $5.21, while Barrick Gold shot up 71 cents, or 3.1%, to $23.60.
Among materials, Teck Resources surged 75 cents, or 2.7%, to $28.96.
In the tech world, Constellation Software bolted higher $23.35, or 3.9%, to $628.35.
Health-care stocks sagged, primarily Valeant Pharmaceuticals, off $3.27, or 12%, to $23.94, while Concordia International fell 21 cents, or 4.4%, to $4.58.
Energy stocks suffered, as EnCana Corporation surrendered 62 cents, or 4.6%, to $12.79, while Baytex Energy dipped 16 cents, or 3%, to $5.16.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada industrial product price index rose 0.4% in September, led by higher prices for energy and petroleum products, as well as motorized and recreational vehicles.
StatsCan also said its raw materials price index edged down 0.1% in the same month, as lower prices for animals and animal products were largely offset by higher prices for crude energy products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange sagged 3.09 points to 772.78
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups remained higher, with gold brightening 2.9%, materials perking 1.7%, and information technology clicking ahead 1.3%.
The four laggards were weighed most by health-care, slumping 3.2%, energy, sagging 1.7%, and real-estate, down 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities closed around breakeven on Monday, after gyrating between slight gains and losses as an investigation into new Hillary Clinton emails kept investors on edge.
The Dow Jones Industrials were down 18.77 points to close Monday at 18,142.42, with Chevron leading advancers and Nike the top decliner.
The S&P 500 moved down 0.26 points at 2,126.15, with utilities leading eight sectors higher and energy the biggest laggard.
The NASDAQ composite index dropped 0.97 points to 5,189.13.
Monday was also the last day of October, with the Dow and S&P extending their slide to three months, while the NASDAQ snapped a three-month winning streak.
Investors pored over corporate earnings, a merger announcement between Baker Hughes and General Electric, as well as economic data.
FBI Director James Comey said in a Friday letter to lawmakers that the agency is probing new emails related to the Democratic nominee. The emails were discovered during a separate investigation involving former Congressman Anthony Weiner.
Clinton's lead over her Republican counterpart, Donald Trump, has narrowed significantly since Friday's news broke
Consumer spending rose more than expected in September as households boosted purchases of motor vehicles and inflation increased steadily, which could bolster expectations of an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve in December.
The Commerce Department said on Monday that consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity, increased 0.5% after a downwardly revised 0.1% drop in August.
Other data released Monday included the Chicago PMI's October read, which came in at 50.6, well below a September print of 54.2. The Dallas Fed manufacturing survey showed a print of 6.7 for October, below a 16.7 read in September.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were up, lowering yields to 1.83% from Friday’s 1.85%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were lower $1.95 to $46.75 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices regained $2.40 to $1,279.20 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
