The Toronto stock market registered a solid gain Monday as investors largely brushed aside data that indicated China's economic growth rate has slowed slightly.
The S&P/TSX composite index galloped ahead 102.08 points to close at 13,990.29, tantalizingly close to the psychologically-important 14,000 mark.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.08 cents, to 91.29 cents U.S.
Barrick Gold gained 88 cents to $21.49 while Goldcorp ran ahead 40 cents to $25.83.
Osisko Mining Corp. said Monday that shareholders should give its board time to find an alternative to Goldcorp's hostile $2.6-billion takeover offer, which it called inadequate.
Osisko shares have traded well above the $5.95 implied value of the Goldcorp offer since the stock-and-cash proposal was first announced last week. Osisko shares slipped two cents to $6.45.
The TSX tech sector was up with BlackBerry ahead 82 cents, or 8.2%, to $10.80, on top of a 6% advance Friday after Citron Research raised its price target to $15 U.S. Also, the U.S. Department of Defense says it will continue to support the company's smartphones.
Elsewhere, Open Text gained 85 cents to $99.99 ahead of the company posting earnings on Thursday.
The base metals sector was ahead as March copper was unchanged at $3.34 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources added 44 cents to $29.10.
Financials were also supportive as Royal Bank climbed $1.00 to $72.86.
Elsewhere on the corporate front, transportation giant Bombardier was unchanged at penny to $4.11 as it said Monday it delivered 238 aircraft in last year, missing its own forecast on lower than expected business jet shipments, and received 19% fewer orders in 2013. It cited a sluggish global economic recovery as part of the reason for lower deliveries.
WestJet Airlines Ltd. said it is bringing its new Encore regional service to Ontario. The airline says it will start with routes between Toronto and Thunder Bay, Ont., and between Thunder Bay and Winnipeg. Its shares nicked ahead four cents to $27.12.
Economically speaking, China's economy narrowly missed expectations for growth to hit 14-year lows in 2013, though some economists say a cooldown will be inevitable this year as officials and investors hunker down for difficult reforms.
Back home, it is a busy week on the Canadian economic calendar with manufacturing shipments for November out Tuesday, November retail sales on Thursday and the December reading on inflation on Friday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange remained positive 3.40 points to 979.74.
All 14 Toronto subgroups gained ground on the day, with gold surging 1.4%, materials and information technology stocks each leaping 1.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Markets in the United States are closed for Martin Luther King Day
Oil prices moved lower by 65 cents to $93.72 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices advanced $2.20 to $1,254.10 U.S. an ounce.
