The Toronto stock market was higher Monday amid a strong reading on U.S. retail sales and major deal-making in the resource sector.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed out the day up 26.74 points to 14,284.43 – well off its highs of the morning.
The Canadian dollar gained back 0.20 cents at 91.29 cents U.S.
The Toronto stock market's benchmark index, which lost about 1% last week, is up about 5% this year, and has outperformed the S&P 500 index so far this year.
The TSX base metals sector advanced and May copper was up one cent at $3.05 U.S. a pound with Sherritt International running up 38 cents, or 8.8% to $4.68.
Mining giant Glencore Xstrata said it was selling its Las Bambas copper project in Peru to a group of Chinese state-owned companies for $5.85 billion U.S.
The purchase adds to a multibillion-dollar string of foreign acquisitions by China's government-owned energy and mining companies, which hope to profit from future demand.
Glencore Xstrata is also buying Caracal Energy Inc., which has terminated plans to merge with Calgary-based TransGlobe Energy as a result.
TransGlobe said it would distribute the break fee it receives from Caracal to shareholders through a special dividend of 10 cents per share. TransGlobe shares gained 23 cents to $8.12.
Texas-based Stabilis Energy says it signed an agreement to buy substantially all the liquefied natural gas business of a subsidiary of Encana Corp.. Financial terms of the deal involving Encana Natural Gas Inc. weren't disclosed. Encana shares took on 10 cents to $24.75.
On Canada's West Coast, the residents of Kitimat, B.C. have voted against Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway pipeline project in a non-binding plebiscite by a vote of 1,793 to 1,278. The federal cabinet is expected to release its decision on Northern Gateway by June. Enbridge slipped 40 cents to $50.77.
The gold sector improved as Barrick Gold gained 19 cents to $20.64
The energy sector was ahead as Canadian Natural Resources gained four cents to $43.34
Internationally, Russian stocks and the ruble dropped as the continuing strife between Russia and Ukraine ramped up to a fever pitch.
Pro-Russian protesters seized a police station in Ukraine and the government threatened to oust them with a "full-scale anti-terrorist operation."
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 1.76 points to 996.01
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups stayed positive on the day, with metals and mining up 2.3%, global base metals triumphing 1.6% and gold spiking 1%.
The five laggards were weighed mostly by utilities, off 0.9%, health-care, sliding 0.6%, and telecoms dipping 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
A Monday rally lost some of its legs as the session wound down.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average spiked 146.49 points to finish at 16,173.24. The S&P 500 gained 14.92 points to 1,830.61, and the NASDAQ composite index jumped 22.96 to 4,022.69
Google, Yahoo, IBM and Intel report earnings later this week.
The big earnings star today is Citigroup. It jumped 4% in early trading, helping ignite the morning rally in stocks. The third largest U.S. bank beat analysts' forecasts for first quarter earnings. Profits rose 4% from the same period last year.
Earnings from Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley come later in the week.
Facebook, Twitter, Amazon.com, Netflix, Biogen Idec, Gilead Sciences, and Alexion Pharmaceuticals all gained ground.
Another stock that took a pounding on Friday, but is bouncing back today is Herbalife. Shares of the multi-level marketer plunged after a report in the Financial Times saying that the Department of Justice and the FBI had launched a criminal probe of the company. But Herbalife said it had "no knowledge of any ongoing investigation by the DOJ or the FBI."
In deal news, the financial services company TIAA-CREF is buying Nuveen Investments for $6.25 billion U.S. including debt. Nuveen has $221 billion U.S. in assets under management and brings TIAA-CREF's total assets under management to $800 billion U.S.
One of the biggest gainers in the S&P500 today is Edwards Lifesciences. That's because the company was granted a preliminary injunction limiting the sale of Medtronic's competing heart valve system. Medtronic is leading the list of S&P losers today.
On the economic front, March retail sales posted their biggest gain since September 2012, up 1.1% as shoppers started returning to stores after the winter. Sales were exceptionally strong at auto dealers.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries fell back, raising yields to 2.64% from Friday’s 2.62%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 18 cents to $103.56 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $7.50 to $1,326.30 U.S. an ounce.
