Equities in Canada’s largest market gained on Monday as energy stocks were lifted by higher oil prices, but worries over the growing number of deaths due to the coronavirus limited gains.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index sprang up 187.02 points to greet Monday noon at 15,376
The Canadian dollar gave back 0.11 cents to 72.99 cents U.S.
Canadian markets will be shuttered Wednesday for Canada Day.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Ballard Power Systems, which jumped $2.41, or 12.9%, to $21.09, and Transcontinental, which rose 71 cents, or 4.9%, to $15.21.
Aurora Cannabis fell 15 cents to $16.94, after its co-founder Terry Booth retired from his role as director. The second biggest decliner was Lightspeed POS, down 62 cents, or 1.8%, to $33.20.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported the total value of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities in May bounced back 20.2% to $7.4 billion, following declines of 13.4% in March and 15.4% in April.
The agency’s industrial product price index rose 1.2% in May, driven mainly by higher prices for meat, fish and dairy products as well as energy and petroleum products, while the raw materials price index increased 16.4%, mainly on higher crude oil prices.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange progressed 4.45 points to 603.19.
All 12 TSX subgroups gained ground midday, consumer discretionary stocks leaping 1.9%, while energy and utilities each powered ahead 1.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose in volatile trading Monday as Wall Street cheered news on Boeing and traders shrugged off the latest surge in coronavirus cases.
The Dow Jones Industrials rebounded 359 points, or 1.4%, to pause for lunch at 25,309.
The S&P 500 recovered 22.5 points to 3,029.50.
The NASDAQ Composite moved higher 15.5 points to 9,881.
Markets in the States will observe the Fourth of July on Friday.
Shares of Dow-member Boeing rose 8.1% as certification flights for the Boeing 737 Max were set to begin Monday. The test is seen by investors as a critical step in Boeing’s worst-ever corporate crisis, which began in March 2019 after two crashes in five months killed 346 people.
Investors bet on select stocks on hopes most state economies will continue to reopen even as some hotspots pop up. Southwest Airlines jumped after Goldman Sachs upgraded the shares to buy from sell. Southwest gained 5.1% following the upgrade. Shares of retailer Gap gathered 4% and Kohl’s rose 5%.
Facebook stock fell 2.8% on Monday as more companies said they will pause advertising on its platforms. Since Friday, Starbucks, Coca Cola and Guinness-parent Diageo all announced they will halt advertising on social media.
The move is seen as part of a broader effort among a growing number of companies to force social media platforms to crack down on hate speech and disinformation on their sites and apps. Twitter slipped 1.8% in a similar move.
The major averages also got a boost after the National Association of Realtors said pending home sales jumped by a record 44.3% in May.
Futures contracts had initially pointed to a decline on Monday after data compiled by Johns Hopkins University showed more than 2.5 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in the U.S. On Friday alone, there were 45,255 additional cases were reported, bringing the country’s seven-day average to more than 41% from the prior week.
On Saturday, Florida reported a one-day record of cases of 9,636. The state reported an additional 8,577 on Sunday. Those figures were released after Florida once again banned drinking at bars on Friday. Texas — another state that has seen record spikes in coronavirus infections — rolled back on Friday some of its reopening measures.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury were unchanged, keeping yields at Friday’s 0.64%.
Oil prices gained 50 cents to $38.99 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added $4.50 to $1,784.80 U.S. an ounce.
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