Equity markets in Toronto advanced to their highest in almost six years on Monday after violence in Iraq pushed up the price of oil, driving gains in the heavyweight energy sector.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 38.82 points to end Monday at 15,040.43. It earlier hit 15,063.04, its highest level since June 19, 2008.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.12 at 92.23 cents U.S.
The benchmark index, which has climbed in 11 of the last 12 sessions, is up more than 10% this year.
With the price of U.S. crude oil hovering around $107 U.S., shares of energy producers climbed 0.4 percent. Suncor Energy gained 1% to $46.82, and Enbridge rose 0.9% to $51.53.
Financials moved higher, though Royal Bank of Canada gave back 0.1% to $75.18 and Toronto Dominion Bank gained 0.3% to $54.36.
Health-care stocks flexed some muscle, most notably Extendicare, whose shares triumphed 2.5% to $7.38. Among consumer staples, Maple Leaf Foods jumped 6.3% to $19.90.
Gold stocks did not fare so well, as Barrick Gold dipped 0.3% to $18.39 and Argonaut Gold tumbled 7.5% to $4.07.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that investors offshore added $10.1 billion of Canadian securities to their holdings, marking the highest such acquisition in a year. Meanwhile, Canadian investment in foreign securities slowed to $2.5 billion.
Elsewhere, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported that national home sales rose 5.9% from April to May. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 4.8% above May 2013 levels.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange remained positive 1.34 points to 998.22
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher on the day, led by health-care, up 1, while consumer staples climbed 0.8% and information technology gained 0.7%.
The three laggards were weighed most by gold, down 0.9%, real-estate, down 0.4%, and global base metals, off 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks hovered around the breakeven point amid worries the chaos in the Middle East could hurt economic growth. Even a burst of M&A activity hasn't been enough to counterbalance the fears about rising oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 5.27 points to finish at 16,781.01
The S&P 500 poked ahead 1.62 points to 1,937.75, and the NASDAQ composite regained 10.46 points to 4,321.11
On the positive side, cheap borrowing rates and tax policy continue to drive merger and acquisition activity.
Medical device giant Medtronic unveiled a $42.9-billion U.S. takeover Irish rivalCovidien The deal is the latest "tax inversion" combination aimed at taking advantage of relatively low tax rates in some foreign countries by relocating corporate headquarters. Covidien soared 21% on the news.
There were also a number of smaller deals flying around.
Level 3 Communications agreed to scoop up business ethernet provider TW for $5.7 billion in cash and stock. TW stock jumped over 8% Monday.
Williams Cos. spiked 19% as investors cheered the energy company's $6-billion U.S. deal to take full control of Access Midstream Partners
In the tech world, SanDisk inked a $1.21-billion U.S. buyout of smaller data-storage company Fusion-io, representing a 21% premium on its closing price on Friday.
Yahoo retreated 5% after Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant it owns a chunk of, revealed new details of its planned initial public offering. The latest documents show Alibaba's revenue growth has slowed, though it was still up 39% year-over-year.
Shares of Tesla drove 8% higher, extending its 2014 rally to 45%. Investors have largely shrugged off an initial negative reaction to Tesla's plans to share patents with competitors.
Oil prices ticked above $107 U.S. a barrel Monday amid concerns the fighting in Iraq could threaten the country's ability to export oil. Natural gas prices fell about 1%, but investors will continue to monitor for signs of higher energy costs to Western consumers and businesses.
Meanwhile, Russia said it has cut off supplies to Ukraine after negotiators failed to fix a payment dispute before a key deadline.
Manufacturing activity in the New York area gained momentum in June, a new report showed. The New York Fed's manufacturing index unexpectedly ticked up this month to 19.28 from 19.01.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries were down by the end of Monday, raising yields to Friday’s 2.60%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices eased back 14 cents to $106.77 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $2.20 at $1,271.90 U.S. an ounce.
