Canada's main stock index rose at the open on Tuesday, as investors hoped for a resolution to the Sino-U.S. trade war, while the country's fourth-largest lender Bank of Montreal slipped after reporting a quarterly profit below estimates.
The S&P/TSX Composite gained 51.14 points to open Tuesday at 16,149.93
The Canadian dollar added 0.07 cents to 75.53 cents U.S.
Party sources say the Trudeau Liberals will promise to help cut cell phone and internet bills in an upcoming election campaign amid widespread complaints about the cost of wireless communications.
Bank of Nova Scotia beat analysts' estimates for quarterly profit, benefiting from lower provisioning for credit losses and strength in its international banking business.
Scotiabank shares zoomed $1.23, or 1.8%, to $69.00
Bank of Montreal reported a third-quarter profit below market expectations, hurt by higher loan loss provisions. BMO shares dropped $3.69, or 4%, to $88.69.
Cormark raised the price target on Cargojet to $120 from $105. Cargojet shares jetted 34 cents to $104.08.
CIBC raised the price target on Intact Financial to $138.00 from $134.00. Intact shares improved $1.22, or nearly 1%, to $128.64.
Scotiabank cut the price target on Whitecap Resources to $7.25 from $7.75. Whitecap shares lost four cents, or 1.1%, to $3.52.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 0.69 points to 583.93
All but one of the 12 Toronto subgroups were positive in the first hour, with information technology ahead 1.3%, while gold and materials each improved 0.9%.
Only health-care lost ground, and only 0.4% at that.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Tuesday as investors digested the latest developments from the U.S.-China trade war.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 90.63 points to start out to 25,989.46.
The S&P 500 added 12.01 points to 2,890.39, as the tech and communications sectors outperformed.
The NASDAQ heightened 43.45 points to 7,897.65.
Sentiment got a lift on Tuesday after China announced measures aimed at boosting consumption, including potentially removing car-buying restrictions. Auto stocks rose broadly on the news.
For example, Ford Motor improved 0.6%, and General Motors gained 0.4%. Fiat Chrysler and Ferrari rose more than 1% each.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained slightly, lowering yields to 1.52% from Monday’s 1.54%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices gained 62 cents to $54.26 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices took on $4.80 to $1,542 U.S. an ounce.
