Canada's main stock index opened higher on Monday, led by gains in technology shares, while investors maintained caution ahead of the Bank of Canada's monetary policy meeting later in the week.
The TSX Composite gained steadily at Monday’s outset, picking up 31.32 points to 20,937.84.
The Canadian dollar was unchanged at 74.44 cents U.S.
Investors look forward to the much-awaited Bank of Canada monetary policy meeting, due Wednesday, for the central bank's direction on interest rate cuts.
The BoC is expected to leave its key overnight rate unchanged this time, but stubborn inflation has delayed the timeline for the first rate cut in almost four years.
Money market participants are now pricing in just over 22% chances of a cut in borrowing costs in March, while a majority of over 56% are expecting a cut in April.
In corporate news, Canadian apparel maker Gildan Activewear on Sunday said it had learned activist fund Browning West, LP's purchase of the company's shares last month violated the U.S. anti-trust laws. Gildan gained 29 cents to $43.39.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange ducked 1.87 points first thing Monday day to 550.46.
All but three of the 12 subgroups were in the green at the start of the trading session, with real-estate climbing 0.9%, information technology up 0.6%, and financials richer 0.4%.
The three laggards were gold, down 0.8%, materials, sliding 0.7%, and energy, off 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose Monday as investors built on the previous session’s historic move to record highs.
The Dow Jones Industrials popped another 207.58 points to 38.071.38, hitting a record.
The S&P 500 index hiked 22.42 points to 4,862.23, also reaching a fresh all-time high.
The NASDAQ rose 100 points to kick off Monday at 15,410.97.
Macy’s climbed almost 2% after rejecting a $5.8-billion proposal from Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management to take the retailer private. SolarEdge added 4.5% on the back of the company announcing it would lay off 16% of its workforce.
B Riley Financial slipped around 5% after Bloomberg reported that regulators are investigating deals with a client connected to securities fraud. Archer-Daniels-Midland dropped more than 16% after issuing weak earnings guidance and placing CFO Vikram Luthar on leave amid an investigation tied to accounting practices.
Traders are now pricing in a roughly 46% chance of a Fed rate cut in March. That marks a steep decrease from almost 81% a week earlier. There’s a nearly 54% likelihood that the central bank will keep rates steady, up from around 19% one week prior.
Investors will be closely watching a slate of economic reports due out this week, including gross domestic product data on Thursday and the personal consumption expenditures prices on Friday. Both reports could provide insight into how central bank policymakers view monetary policy moving forward.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 4.09% from Friday’s 4.13%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices jumped 87 cents to $74.28 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices skidded $4.40 to $2,024.90.
Another All-Time High for S&P
