Canada’s main stock index jumped in Monday trade in a broad rally led by big banks and energy stocks as well as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, which said it was bringing an eye treatment to market.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index came off its highs of the day, but was still positive 89.66 points to conclude Monday at 16,131.64
The Canadian dollar gained 0.06 cents to 77.73 cents U.S.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International rose $1.95, or 7.7%, to $27.34 after saying that its Bausch + Lomb division had began distributing a treatment for glaucoma to U.S. wholesale pharmaceutical distributors.
Canopy Growth Corporation jumped $1.02, or 5.2%, to $20.54.
Energy stocks were busy moving higher, too, as Suncor gathered 64 cents, or 1.5%, to $44.30, while Imperial Oil gained 16 cents to $38.16.
Among gold holdings, Barrick Gold acquired 32 cents, or 1.8%, to $18.45, while Kinross Gold moved up 12 cents, or 2.2%, to $5.31.
First Quantum Minerals dropped a penny to $17.11 after the miner said it had acquired an option on a 50% stake in the Pebble copper-gold project in Alaska. The project’s owner, Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd lost 7.9% to $2.58 after initially jumping. Northern Dynasty shares surrendered 40 cents, or 14.3%, to $2.40
Bombardier was up five cents, or 1.5%, to $3.12. The plane and train maker said its joint venture in China had won a monorail contract worth $271 million and that it had also won a $238-million contract in Australia’s Melbourne.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada said Canada's International Transactions in Securities totaled $20.8 billion in October, led by record acquisitions of Canadian bonds. At the same time, Canadian investors increased their holdings of foreign securities by $16.5 billion, mainly purchases of U.S. shares.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange ballooned 6.28 points to 807.51
All 12 TSX subgroups were positive, as health-care gained 3.8%, while energy rumbled 1.6% higher and gold surged 1.5%
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed at all-time highs on Monday as investors eagerly awaited a vote on a bill that would cut corporate taxes. A slew of corporate deals also helped lift sentiment.
The Dow Jones industrials soared 140.46 points above Friday’s record close to 24,792.20, marking its 70th record close of the year. The 30-stock index is also up more than 5,000 points for the year.
The S&P 500 jumped 14.35 points to 2,690.16, with materials and telecommunications as the best-performing sectors.
The NASDAQ composite index rocketed 58.18 points to 6,994.76, after briefly surmounting the 7,000-point barrier.
Equities have risen sharply this year, as investors have awaited the overhaul. The S&P 500 was up 19.5% for 2017 entering Monday's session.
Wall Street also got a slew of corporate news on Monday.
Campbell Soup announced it will buy Snyder's-Lance for nearly $4.9 billion. Various media reported last week that Campbell was in advanced talks to acquire the snacks maker. Snyder's shares popped 7%, while Campbell traded 0.1% higher.
Chocolate maker Hershey said announced a deal to buy Amplify Snack Brands, the maker of Skinny Pop popcorn, for $12 per share, or 71% more than Friday's close of $7. Hershey shares closed 0.1% higher, while Amplify Snack Brands jumped 71.6%
Elsewhere, Oracle said it will buy Aconex — a software company based in Australia — for $1.2 billion.
Congress is expected to vote as early as Tuesday on a plan that would slash the federal corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%. Passing the bill would mark a big legislative win for Republicans, who have been pushing to revamp the U.S. tax code for most of 2017.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note sagged, raising yields to 2.39% from Friday’s 2.35%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were down 15 cents a barrel to $57.15 U.S.
Gold prices progressed seven dollars to $1,264.50 U.S. an ounce.
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