Stocks in Canada’s largest centre flexed their muscles to begin the year, with resource and health-care stocks leading the charge Monday.
The TSX finished Monday positive by 94.41 points to at 17,527.77. The Canadian dollar docked 0.37 cents to 78.22 cents U.S.
Gold and materials had banner days, as Teranga Gold flew $1.56, or 11.4%, to $15.20, while Alamos Gold triumphed $1.23, or 11.1%, to $12.75.
Endeavour Mining jumped $3.28, or 11.1%, to $32.90, while Fortuna Silver Mines hiked $1.41, or 13.5%, to $11.87.
Health-care stocks were also in the pink, as Aurora Cannabis spiked $1.50, or 14.2%, to $12.10, while Cronos Group scaled higher 90 cents, or 10.2%, to $9.74.
On the downside, Lightspeed POS faded $4.39, or 4.9%, to $85.45, while Docebo faded $2.57, or 3.1%, to $80.18.
Consumer discretionary stocks also faltered, with Spin Master docking $1.18, or 4.1%, to $27.83, while Sleep Country deducted 77 cents
Financials took some knocks, as CI Financial slid 66 cents, or 4.2%, to $15.12, while Brookfield Asset Management fell $2.10, or 4%, to $50.51.
Data Monday showed Canadian factory activity expanded at its fastest pace on record in December as new orders and production climbed, while manufacturers grew more optimistic that output would continue to rise in 2021
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange climbed 13.68 points to 889.04, after a spectacular year in which the index gained 298 points, or 51.6%.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher, as gold stocks spread their wings 8.1%, materials were up 6.8%, and health-care jumped 4.3%.
The five laggards were weighed by information technology, sliding 1.3%, while consumer discretionary issues were down 1.2% each, while financials slid 0.9%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks dropped on Monday, the first trading day of 2021, amid concerns about global coronavirus cases and the Georgia runoff elections.
The Dow Jones Industrials came off its lows of the afternoon, but still finished behind New Year’s Eve’s level by 382.59 points, or 1.3%, to close Monday at 30,223.89.
Monday marked the first negative start to a year for the Dow since 2016.
The S&P 500 faded 55.42 points, or 1.5%, to 3,700.65.
The NASDAQ swooned 189.84 points, or 1.5%, to 12,698.45.
It was the biggest one-day selloff since Oct. 28 for the Dow and S&P 500, while the NASDAQ had its worst daily performance since Dec. 9.
Coca-Cola tumbled 3.8% and Boeing fell 5.3%, the worst-performing Dow components. Real estate fell 3.2% to lead the S&P 500 lower.
Monday’s decline came as traders fretted over the growing number of coronavirus cases around the world.
Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University showed more than 20 million COVID-19 infections have been confirmed in the U.S. Several cases of a new coronavirus strain have also been confirmed across the country.
Globally, more than 85 million cases have been confirmed. In the U.K., the BBC reported the country would impose Tier 4 restrictions across the country.
The 30-stock Dow ended last year with an advance of 7.3%, and the S&P 500 rose 16.3% in that time. At one point in 2020, the two market benchmarks were down more than 30% as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the global economy.
The real standout of 2020 was the NASDAQ, which surged 43.6% for its biggest one-year gain since 2009. The NASDAQ’s outperformance came as investors and traders flocked into tech stocks in the throes of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Unprecedented fiscal and monetary support for the economy — coupled with the development and rollout of multiple COVID-19 vaccines — helped the market recover from its massive drop to trade back at all-time highs.
The U.S. rollout of multiple COVID-19 vaccines has recently been slowed down due to supply constraints.
The head of Operation Warp Speed said on Sunday that the U.S. could ramp up its vaccine rollout by giving a group of Americans half doses of the drug developed by Moderna. Moderna shares added 5.3%.
Tesla shares gained 4.8% on Monday, hitting an all-time high, after the electric carmaker said Saturday that it delivered 180,570 electric vehicles last quarter, beating expectations.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury were slightly higher, lowering yields to 0.91% from Thursday’s 0.92%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped $1.17 to $47.35 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices vaulted $51.80 to $1,946.90 U.S. an ounce.
