Stocks in Canada’s largest market built on early gains as morning became afternoon on Monday, while shares of drug developer Trillium Therapeutics nearly tripled on its acquisition by U.S. pharma major Pfizer.
The TSX Composite Index gained 99.47 points by lunch time Monday to $20,438.49
The Canadian dollar added 0.85 cents to 78.85 cents U.S.
Trillium ballooned $14.43, or 184.8%, to $22.24.
Crescent Point Energy was the biggest gainer on the TSX, after Trillium, jumping 27 cents, or 6.9%, to $4.14.
Dollarama on the other hand, led the decliners, with a fall of $1.74, or 2.9%, to $58.96, IT services firm CGI was the second biggest decliner, shedding $1.81, or 1,6%, to $111.46.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange jumped 11.09 points, or 1.3%, to 875.60.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided, with health-care screaming higher 5.4%, energy rumbling 3.6% higher and materials 2.6% stronger.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by consumer discretionaty and real-estate stocks, each sliding 0.7%. while consumer staples were off 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were higher Monday morning following a volatile week on Wall Street as investors eye a key event where the Federal Reserve could hint at prospects for tapering stimulus.
The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 255.41 points to 35,375.49.
The S&P 500 zoomed 42.21 points, or 1%, to 4,483.88, an all-time high
The NASDAQ Composite popped 211.65 points, or 1.4%, to 14,926.31, also a new peak.
For the month of August, major benchmarks are poised to post modest gains. The S&P 500 is up 1.1% month to date, while the blue-chip Dow has gained 0.5% and the NASDAQ has climbed 0.3%.
Shares of vaccine makers are trading higher after the Food and Drug Administration granted full approval for the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Monday morning, the first licensing of a vaccine for Covid-19. Pfizer shares are up 3.7%. Its partner BioNTech’s stock jumped 9% and Moderna is 5% higher.
Travel and leisure stocks reacted positively to the news, with Delta and American Airlines moving 2% higher. Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Lines also gained 2%.
Energy stocks are leading the S&P 500 as oil prices jumped Monday and snapped its longest losing streak since 2019. Diamondback Energy and Occidental Petroleum are 6% higher, and Devon Energy gained 5%.
Traders are eagerly awaiting the Jackson Hole symposium for clues on the Fed’s timeline for dialing back its $120 billion a month bond-buying program. The event takes place virtually on Thursday and Friday.
The Fed previously was going to conduct the event in a mixed virtual and live presentation, but decided Friday to go all virtual in light of the rising virus risk.
Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech will be titled “The Economic Outlook,” which “may suggest the speech could have a more near-term focus,” Nomura economist Aichi Amemiya said in a note.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys were unchanged, keeping yields at Friday’s 1.26%.
Oil prices recovered $3.40 to $65.54 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices leaped $23.00 to $1,807.00 U.S. an ounce.
