The Toronto stock market opened marginally higher Monday on positive data from both sides of the border.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 7.5 points to begin a light day of trading at 13,407.10
The Canadian dollar zoomed 0.46 cents to 94.44 cents U.S.
In corporate news, French railway operator SNCF has exercised an option to buy an additional 30 Regio 2N double-deck electric passenger trains from Bombardier Inc.
The Regio 2N double-deck electric train units are designed for use in intercity, regional and commuter services.
The order is valued at $379 million U.S. and brings the total number of units that SNCF has ordered to 159, Bombardier announced Monday from Berlin, where its rail division has its global headquarters. Bombardier shares inched forward two cents to $4.64.
Gold stocks moved lower, particularly Centerra Gold, off 2.5% at the outset to $3.93, while behemoth Barrick Gold lost 1.9% to $17.50.
Tech stocks ticked higher, notably Constellation Software, up 0.9% to $2.03, while Wi-Lan popped 0.9% to $3.51 and BlackBerry grew 0.5% to $7.78.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported this morning that Gross Domestic Product for October rose 0.3%, up for a fourth consecutive month. The general estimate had been for gross domestic product to grow by 0.2%, compared with September's increase of 0.3%
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 5.21 points to 893.39
Eight of the 14 TSX subgroups were lower, weighed by gold, down 0.6%, metals and mining, down 0.3%, and real-estate, off 0.2%.
The half-dozen gainers were led by information technology, spiking 0.5%, energy, gushing 0.3%, and utilities, gaining 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrials and S&P 500 rose to new records early Monday, while the NASDAQ climbed to a fresh 13-year high.
The Dow notched higher 69.65 points to 16,290.79
The S&P 500 index improved 8.33 points to 1,826.65. The NASDAQ climbed 30.43 points to 4,135.17.
The NASDAQ got a boost from Apple's stock surging 3%, after the company announced it had inked an important sales deal in China.
The tech-laden index also got a lift from social media company Facebook, which debuted as part of the S&P 500. Shares were up almost 2% in early trading as investors added the stock to their index funds.
Shares of retailers Men's Warehouse and Jos. A. Bank fell. Jos. A Bank rejected last month's buyout offer from Men's Warehouse.
Investors are also feeling increasingly confident after the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, said her organization was much more upbeat about the U.S. economic recovery.
While a so-called Santa Claus rally may continue to fuel stocks in record territory, trading volume is expected to remain light due to the holiday-shortened week. The market is only open for a half-day trading on Tuesday (Christmas Eve) and is closed on Wednesday for Christmas.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries dipped, hiking yields to 2.91% from Friday’s 2.89%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid 35 cents to $98.97 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slipped $5.90 to $1,197.80 U.S. an ounce.
