The Toronto stock market was modestly higher Monday as mining stocks continued to find lift from strong Chinese manufacturing data that came out last week.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 46.85 points just before noon ET to 12,809.15
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.03 cents to 95.14 cents U.S.
On the commodity markets, the base metals sector advanced while September copper rose two cents to $3.37 U.S. a pound. Thomson Creek Metals Co. gained six cents to $1.52 while Turquoise Hills Resources was up eight cents at $5.59.
The gold sector was ahead as Iamgold gained 17 cents to $7.23.
The energy sector rose as oil prices were slightly higher Suncor Energy climbed 37 cents to $36.43.
Outside the resource components, financials also lifted the TSX as traders look to the release of earnings from almost all the big Canadian banks this week.
Elsewhere in the sector, TD Bank Group says it is continuing talks with Aimia Inc. and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in connection with a possible acquisition of part of the existing CIBC Aeroplan credit card portfolio.
Onex Corp. and a private equity affiliate are selling their combined 60% stake in TMS International Corp. for $410 million U.S. TMS International Corp., through its subsidiaries including Tube City IMS, is the largest provider of outsourced industrial services to steel mills in North America as well as a substantial international presence. Onex shares gained eight cents to $51.93.
Later in the week, traders will look to the latest growth figures from Canada and the U.S. along with earnings from most of Canada's big banks.
Scotiabank and Bank of Montreal post results Tuesday while CIBC, TD Bank and Royal Bank report on Thursday.
On Friday, Statistics Canada releases figures for gross domestic product growth in June and the second quarter. Economists expect the data to show GDP contracted 0.5% during the month, in part because of severe flooding in Alberta and a construction sector strike in Quebec.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 5.44 points to 952, after an 11-point hike Friday.
In all, nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher by midday, led by materials up 2%, gold, gaining 1.7%, and metals and mining issues gained 0.9%.
The five laggards were weighed mostly by industry, telecom and utility issues, each down 0.5%
ON WALLSTREET
It appears investors are unwilling to make big bets until they have more clarity about the U.S. Federal Reserve's next moves.
The Dow Jones Industrials added 23.96 points to greet noon at 15,034.50
The S&P 500 index inched up 4.81 points to 1,668.31. The NASDAQ hiked 21.33 points to 3,679.12
Shares of Amgen rose sharply after it agreed to buy Onyx Pharmaceuticals for $10.4 billion U.S., in a deal that will give Amgen access to a wide range of cancer treatment drugs.
Meanwhile, the BATS Global Markets and Direct Edge Holdings exchanges announced that they will merge in a deal that would create that second-largest stock exchange by trading volume.
The deal comes just a few days after a major trading glitch that affected NASDAQ OMX. BATS also experienced significant trading problems a year ago, issues that forced the company to cancel its plans to go public.
Volume should be extremely light this week as the typically sluggish month of August is coming to a close and investors get ready for the upcoming Labour Day holiday.
Still, the possibility of the Fed starting to trim, or taper, the size of its $85 billion U.S. a month in asset purchases was the focus of debate this past weekend as central bankers from around the world took part in the Fed's annual monetary policy symposium in Wyoming.
A downbeat report on manufacturing was also adding pressure on the market. Durable goods orders tumbled 7.3% in July, the most in almost a year. The decline was worse than the 5% drop analysts were expecting, and followed three months of strong gains.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury spiked, weighing yields down to 2.79% from Friday’s 2.82%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices demurred 30 cents to $106.12 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added $3.20 to $1,399 U.S. an ounce.
