Canada's main stock index opened higher on Monday amid fresh hopes of a possible U.S.-China trade deal after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would delay raising tariffs on Chinese imports.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 47.62 points to begin Monday and the week at 16,060.63
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.10 cents at 76 cents U.S.
Barrick Gold offered to buy U.S. rival Newmont Mining for nearly $18 billion in stock, in a deal that would combine the world's two largest gold producers.
Barrick stock gave back 14 cents to $16.99.
RBC cut the price target on Canfor to $21.00 from $23.00. Canfor shares gained 35 cents, or 2.2%, to $16.10.
J.P. Morgan cut the rating on Magna International to underweight from neutral. Magna ditched 58 cents to $71.00.
National Bank of Canada raised the price target on Saputo to $46.00 from $44.00. Saputo shares picked up 16 cents to $43.07.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 0.56 points to 623.83
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were on the move upwards, as information technology, industrials and financials each climbed 0.6%.
The five laggards were weighed most by health-care, down 2%, while gold slumped 0.7%, and utilities lost 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Monday after President Donald Trump said he would delay placing additional tariffs on Chinese goods. Equities also got a boost from deal-making activity.
The Dow Jones Industrials rocketed 162.34 points to 26,194.15, led by gains in Caterpillar and Goldman Sachs.
The S&P 500 strengthened 17.01 points to 2,809.68, as the industrials and tech sectors outperformed.
The NASDAQ Composite popped 68.78 points to 7,596.33
Trump said in a series of tweets the U.S. would not add more tariffs on imports from China at the start of March. He cited "substantial progress" in bilateral talks between the world's two largest economies, including intellectual property protection and technology transfer issues. However, he did not state a new deadline.
In the U.S., trade bellwethers Caterpillar and Boeing both rose more than 1%.
Sentiment was also lifted after General Electric announced it will sell its biopharmaceutical business to Danaher for $21.4 billion. News of the deal sent GE shares flying more than 13%. Danaher's stocks jumped 8.4%.
Meanwhile, Barrick Gold launched a bit to acquire Newmont Mining for $7 billion in an all-stock deal. If approved, the deal would come after years of stagnant gold prices. The precious metal has been trading between $1,000 and $1,400 per ounce in recent years.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury wilted, raising yields to 2.68% from Friday’s 2.65%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices settled $1.11 to $56.15 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices acquired 50 cents to $1,330.30 U.S. an ounce.
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