Stocks Stay Positive by Noon
Canada Goose in Focus
Canada's main stock index held onto early gains by the luncheon bell on Monday, boosted by energy stocks as oil prices rose on hints of progress on a possible Sino-U.S. trade deal.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 22.33 points, to greet noon in the last session of the year at 14,244.33
The Canadian dollar was down 0.11 cents at 73.29 U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Twitter that he had a "long and very good call" with Chinese President Xi Jinping and that a possible trade deal between the United States and China was progressing well.
Large crowds have flocked to Canada Goose's new outdoor wear store in downtown Beijing, its first in mainland China, since its opening on Friday, despite sub-freezing temperatures and a chill in bilateral ties.
Canada Goose shares dashed ahead $2.20, or 3.9%, to $59.26.
Aphria Inc fell 71 cents, or 8.3%, to $7.81, the most on the TSX, pulling away further from Green Growth Brands Ltd's planned offer price of $11.
First Majestic Silver floundered for a while this morning, but found its way upward five cents to $7.91.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved higher 3.23 points to 555.32
All but four of the 12 TSX subgroups moved into noon hour higher, as gold gained 1%, information technology vaulted 0.9%, and materials were better by 0.8%.
The four laggards were weighed most by health-care, paler by 2.1%, while communications fell 0.6%, and consumer staples hesitated 0.03%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on Monday as investors tried to end the worst year on Wall Street since the financial crisis on a high note.
The index remained buoyant 143.09 points to reach midday at 23,205.49, led by gains in Boeing and Goldman Sachs.
The S&P 500 gained 6.95 points to 2,492.69
The NASDAQ Composite retained 22.71 points to 6,607.23,
Stocks were on track to log their worst annual performance since 2008, with the S&P 500 and Dow both falling more than 6%. The NASDAQ is also down more than 4% for the year.
A sizable chunk of those losses came in December. The indexes are all down at least 9.5% for the month. The Dow and S&P 500 were also on track to record their worst December performance since 1931.
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump said he had a “very good call” with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss trade. The president also claimed that “big progress” was being made on this front. Trump’s statements sparked gains in markets worldwide.
However, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump may be overstating how much progress was being made. The report cited people familiar with the situation. China and the U.S. agreed earlier this month to a 90-day grace period to try and work out their differences on trade.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury eked higher, lowering yields to 2.71% from Friday’s 2.72%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid 12 cents to $45.21 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices moved higher 90 cents at $1,283.40 U.S. an ounce.
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