The Toronto Stock Exchange posted a triple-digit gain Monday afternoon, as some large corporate deals helped restore investor confidence after wild swings on North American markets last week.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index vaulted 141.41 points, or 1.1%, to end the session at 12,683.61
The Canadian dollar picked up 0.75 cents to 102.02 cents U.S.
Early Monday morning, TD Bank announced it would purchase the Canadian credit card business of Bank of America Corp., which has about $8.5 billion in receivables.
While TD did not disclose the value of the transaction, it said the price was a "modest premium." The assets are part of the MBNA credit card portfolio, which was acquired by Bank of America in 2006. TD shares gained 1.2% or 90 cents, to $76.82.
And Google said it plans to acquire wireless phone maker Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion U.S. The search engine giant says it will pay $40 U.S. a share for Motorola. The deal has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies. Motorola operates Google’s Android system on its smartphones.
Rival Research In Motion Ltd. saw its shares rise 9.6%, or $2.34, to $26.63 as the information technology sector got a major boost.
Paper producer Domtar Corp. is making a strategic move into consumer products with a $315-million deal to buy Attends Healthcare Inc., a manufacturer and supplier of incontinence products. Its shares added $2.96, or 4.4%, to $72.70.
On matters economic, Statistics Canada reported that June motor vehicle sales jumped 10.8% to 141,882 units, more than offsetting losses reported in the previous two months. Car and truck sales contributed equally to the hike, according to the agency.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 11.53 points to 1,828.89 while the Nasdaq Canada index moved up 28.87 points to 504.46
In Toronto, all but two of the 14 subgroups stayed in the green all day. Information technology led the pack, charging ahead 3.3%, while the metals and mining group advanced 2.3% and global base metals made 1.8% worth of headway.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks moved solidly higher Monday, as merger activity set a positive tone on Wall Street
The Dow Jones Industrials improved 213.88 points, or 1.9%, to 11,482.90
The S&P 500 spiked 25.68 points to 1,204.49, while the Nasdaq gathered 47.22 to 2,555.20
Stocks ended one of the biggest roller-coaster weeks ever on a relatively quiet note Friday, with the Dow climbing 126 points to post its second gain in a row. Earlier last week, the indexes swung wildly between gains and losses of 4% to 5% a day.
The market turmoil was sparked by fear among investors that Europe is heading toward a financial catastrophe, and that the U.S. is slipping into another recession.
While those fears haven't completely disappeared, investors are seeking bargains in stocks following three weeks of losses, according to some experts.
The return of "Merger Monday" boosted investor sentiment. Google agreed to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion U.S., the two companies said Monday.
Shares of Motorola Mobility surged 56%, leading the gains on the S&P 500. The merger also helped boost shares of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion as well as Nokia Corp
Bank of America's stock spiked 8% after the bank said it is selling its credit card business in Canada to TD Bank Group for $8.6 billion U.S., and is exiting its credit card businesses in the U.K. and Ireland.
Shares of offshore drilling contractor Transocean rose 2.5% after it announced plans to buy Norway's Aker Drilling for $1.4 billion U.S.
Second-quarter results for home improvement chain Lowe's fell short of expectations. The company also trimmed its forecast for the year. Shares of the company slipped 1.6% earlier in the session, but were close to flat later in the day.
Retailer Urban Outfitters is on tap to deliver results after the closing bell Monday.
On the economic front, the positive news about mergers and Japan's economy helped offset a disappointing report on regional manufacturing activity.
The Empire State manufacturing index showed that manufacturing activity contracted for a third straight month in August. The figure fell to -7.72 from -3.76 the prior month. The reading was worse than the -0.4 economists surveyed by Briefing.com were expecting.
Prices on the 10-year Treasury note dipped, raising yields to 2.28% from Friday’s 2.24%. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for September delivery tacked on $2.56 cents to $87.93 U.S. a barrel
Gold futures for December delivery added $15.40 to $1,758 U.S. an ounce
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