Canada's main stock index opened higher on Tuesday, led by gains in shares of precious metal miners as gold prices touched near 10-month highs.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index took on 28.03 points to begin a short week Tuesday at 15,866.27
The Canadian dollar shed 0.21 cents at 75.34 cents U.S.
Markets in Canada were shuttered Monday for Family Day
Gerald Butts, a top aide to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, resigned unexpectedly on Monday amid allegations Trudeau's office had pressured the former justice minister to help construction firm SNC-Lavalin Group Inc avoid criminal prosecution.
Meantime, shares in the construction giant eked up nine cents to $33.97.
Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Saturday she had made clear in a meeting with U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the Munich Security Conference the importance of the U.S. lifting tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada.
A Canadian National Railway train derailed early on Saturday in Western Canada, leaking an undetermined volume of crude oil.
CN shares nosed up 11 cents to $111.49.
CIBC cut the price target on Cineplex to $30.00 from $33.00. Cineplex shares gained 19 cents to $25.33.
CIBC raised the target price on Fairfax Financial Holdings to $725.00 from $700.00. Fairfax leaped $6.80, or 1%, to $657.94
CIBC raised the price target on Toromont Industries to $70.00 from $64.00. Toromont shares gained $2.92, or 4.5%, to $68.45.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 2.49 points to 618.42
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups started off the session higher, as gold shone 2% brighter, materials were stronger by 1.2%, and information technology clicking 1% better.
The three laggards were health-care, down 0.7%, while financials and utilities, each off 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were flat on Tuesday as investors took a breather following solid gains in the previous session.
The Dow Jones Industrials dipped 12.43 points in Tuesday’s first hour of trade to 25,870.82, as losses in J.P. Morgan Chase offset a gain in WalMart.
The S&P 500 notched forward 1.58 points to 2,777.18
The NASDAQ Composite gained 9.48 points to 7,481.89
WalMart shares rose more than 3% after the company reported better-than-expected earnings. The retailer also said e-commerce sales grew by 43% in the previous quarter.
Talks between the U.S. and China are set to continue this week in Washington. Both countries have until early March to come up with a deal. Otherwise, additional U.S. tariffs on Chinese products could take effect. President Donald Trump indicated recently, however, he would be willing to push back the deadline.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained a bit, lowering yields to 2.65% from Friday’s 2.66%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gathered 29 cents to $55.88 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices strengthened $16.00 to $1,338.10 U.S. an ounce.
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