Toronto stocks slipped off the daily highs but were notably higher on Monday, with mining and industrial stocks driving the market.
Shortly before the closing bell, the S&P TSX Composite index had rocketed up 116.94 points -- or 1% -- to 11,329.33.
Mining stocks gained, as Inmet rallied 5.1% to $58.37, Teck Cominco was up 3.4% to $29.38 and First Quantum added 2.5% to $68.70.
Industrial stocks have added strength, as Bombardier Transportation gained 6.5% to $4.89 after announcing it has received a $4-billion-U.S. deal for 80 high-speed trains from China's railway ministry.
Financials have gained, as Royal Bank prospered 1.8% at $58.06, Toronto-Dominion was up 1.9% to $69.73 and Bank of Montreal picked up 2.2% to $54.21.
In corporate news, Stantec rallied 1.9% to $27.52. The consulting service provider said it appointed Rich Allen as its Chief Operating Officer, effective January 1. Allen will succeed Mark Jackson, who will be retiring at the end of the year, having been Stantec COO since 2007.
Sprott Resource zoomed 11.9% higher to $3.49 after the company announced its subsidiary, Acquireco, has agreed to acquire Auriga Energy in a stock deal. Under the terms, each shareholder of Auriga will receive 0.3 of an Acquireco common share and 0.0979 of an SCP common share for each Auriga share held.
Canadian Hydro Developers slipped 1.2% to $5.09 after the company announced it plans to acquire an Ontario offshore wind prospect from Wasatch Wind, according to reports.
The Noranda Income Fund soared 36.2% to $2.22 as the company said it expects to return to full capacity at its Valleyfield zinc smelter, according to the Globe and Mail. The company had shut down about 20% of capacity amid global economic worries.
Celestica gained 5.1% to $9.88 after the company said it will exercise its option to redeem all of its outstanding 7.875% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2011.
Royal Host Real Estate Investment Trust slid 1.3% to $2.25 after the company announced that Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Brad Cann, will be leaving the Trust, effective October 23, to pursue other opportunities.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.36 cents to 92.03 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
All but one of the 14 TSX subgroups moved higher. Metals and mining and industrials were co-leaders, up 2.4% each. Global base metals stocks were next at 2.1%.
Gold was the lone laggard, sagging 0.6%.
The TSX Venture Exchange moved up 5.64 points to 1,265.28, while the Nasdaq Canada index slipped 16.11 points to 698.19.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks surged Monday, recharging the recent advance after a one-week break, as a pair of multi-billion-dollar merger announcements gave investors a reason to get back into equities.
The Dow Jones Industrials leaped 124.17 points -- or 1.3% -- to end the day at 9,789.36. The S&P 500 index spiked 18.60 points to 1,062.98. The Nasdaq composite index charged ahead 39.82 points to 2,130.74.
Last week, the S&P 500 fell more than 2%, in its biggest one-week selloff in nearly three months. The declines occurred as investors mulled weaker-than-expected housing reports and an as-expected Federal Reserve decision to hold interest rates steady.
But over the last seven months, investors have mostly used the dips as an opportunity to get back into stocks at lower levels, something that happened Monday, too.
One expert said merger news and the recent series of initial public offerings that have come to market go a long way to counter worries that the stock advance is out of pace with the still-sluggish economy.
Since bottoming at a 12-year low March 9, the S&P 500 has gained 54.4% and the Dow has gained 47.6%, as of Friday's close. After hitting a six-year low, the Nasdaq has gained 64.8%.
Stock gains were broad-based Monday, with 28 of 30 Dow components rising, led by Boeing, 3M, Caterpillar, Chevron, Hewlett-Packard, Johnson & Johnson and Travelers Companies. The only stocks that didn't gain were IBM and Kraft Foods.
In said deal news, Abbott Laboratories is buying the drug unit of its development partner, Belgian pharmaceutical company Solvay, for about $6.6 million U.S. in cash. Abbott shares rose 3%.
Xerox is buying Affiliated Computer Services for $6.4 billion U.S. in cash and stock. Shares of Xerox lost 19%, while shares of Affiliated, an outsourcing firm, gained 14%.
Private equity firm American Securities said it is buying GenTek for $411 million U.S. in cash. GenTek makes specialty chemicals and engine parts.
Johnson & Johnson bought an 18% stake in biotech firm Crucell for $444 million U.S. as part of a deal to develop a flu vaccine.
Often, deal news lifts the broad market as it is seen as a sign of corporate confidence.
Treasury prices moved higher, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.28% from Friday’s 3.31%.
The price of a barrel of oil picked up 82 cents to $66.87 U.S.
Gold prices gained three dollars to $994 U.S. an ounce.
