Markets in Toronto gained on Monday, tracking the upbeat sentiment in global markets on expectations of the Federal Reserve easing rate hikes and optimism over China reopening its borders.
The TSX advanced 160.47 points, to pause for lunch at 19,974.98, nearing four-week highs.
The Canadian dollar sprang up 0.39 cents at 74.81 cents U.S.
Cannabis producer Tilray Brands dropped 4.6% after it reported a second-quarter loss, which was at par with analyst expectations. Tilray dropped in price 16 cents, or 4%, to $3.80.
Financial services firm Canaccord Genuity Group soared $2.49, or 28.9%, to $11.10 after a group led by the company's management said it would launch a takeover bid at nearly $1.13 billion.
On the economic slate, the seasonally adjusted IVEY PMI fell to 33.4 last month from 51.4 in November, its lowest level since April 2020 and well below the 50 threshold that indicates a decrease in activity, while building permits jumped in number 14.1% in November to $11.0 billion, rebounding after two consecutive monthly losses. during November, that word from Statistics Canada.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange also resumed its upward trend, improving 9.18 points, or 1.6%, to 591.07.
All but three of the 12 subgroups were in the green midday, with information technology accelerating 1.5%, energy up 1.4%, and consumer staples up 1%.
The three laggards were health-care, down 0.3%, while gold flattened 0.1% and consumer discretionary eased back 0.02%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rallied for a second straight session Monday, as traders tried to claw back some of the ground lost in 2022.
The Dow Jones Industrials surged 241.97 points to midday Monday at 33,872.58.
The S&P 500 points took on 49.67 points, or 1.3%, to 3,944.75.
The NASDAQ Composite Index leaped 216.01 points, or 2%, to 10,785.31.
That follows a winning week for the three major indexes, with the Dow and S&P 500 posting their best weeks since November. A chunk of those gains came Friday, with the Dow rallying 700 points, while the S&P 500 gathered 2.3% and NASDAQ advanced 2.6%. Those gains were spurred by the latest batch of economic data released Friday.
Monday marks the fifth trading day, reminding investors of a classic Wall Street rule that suggests the market will end the year up if stocks perform well in the first five sessions. The S&P 500 has ended the year positive 83% of the times it ended the first five trading sessions up — and with an average gain of 14%, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac.
Bank of America double-upgraded shares of Zillow Group to buy from underperform. The stock jumped more than 8% in trading Monday.
Investors will watch for consumer expectations and consumer credit data coming later in the day. They will also watch for December’s consumer price index report coming Thursday and big bank earnings scheduled for Friday.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury recovered, lowering yields to 3.51% from Friday’s 3.56%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices poked ahead 96 cents to $74.73 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices climbed $10.20 to $1,879.90 U.S. an ounce.
