Canada's main stock index obtained some traction on Monday as shares of gold miners jumped after the bullion price strengthened.
The S&P/TSX composite index added 110.09 points to end the session at 14,337.77
The Canadian dollar eked higher 0.03 cents at 88.62 cents U.S.
Even so, the broader TSX index is down about 9% since reaching a record high last month.
Shares of Canadian Pacific Railway slipped 1.6% to $221.50, after the company said it had ended merger talks with CSX Corp.
Among energy producers, Suncor Energy recovered nearly 1% to $38.09, though Canadian Natural Resources lost 1% to $38.26.
The gold-mining sector hiked as Goldcorp added 1.9% to $26.33, and Barrick Gold advanced 2.2% to $15.45.
In corporate news, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit. The stock jumped 4% to $140.84.
Economically speaking, wholesale sales edged up 0.2% to $53.1 billion in August. Statistics Canada noted that gains in three sub-sectors -- machinery, equipment and supplies, more than offset declines elsewhere. Excluding the motor vehicle and parts sub-sector, which recorded the largest decline, wholesale sales rose 1.0%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved higher 1.22 points to 811.35.
All 14 Toronto subgroups moved into the green on the day, with gold strengthening 2.7%, while materials soared 2.1%, and telecoms moved higher 1.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were higher on Monday as the S&P 500 and NASDAQ advanced, though disappointing results from IBM kept the Dow close to the unchanged mark.
The Dow Jones Industrials spent much of the day negative, but recovered 19.26 points to 16,399.67.
The S&P 500 gained 17.16 points to 1,903.92. The NASDAQ index gained 57.08 points to 4,315.52.
IBM shares slumped 7.3% to $168.80 U.S. as the biggest drag on both the Dow and S&P 500 after third-quarter earnings fell well short of Wall Street expectations.
IBM abandoned its 2015 operating earnings target and said it would pay GlobalFoundries $1.5 billion U.S. over three years to take its loss-making semiconductor unit.
But earnings reports that exceeded analyst expectations, including Halliburton and Gannett Co., helped lift major indexes and ease the concerns over global growth and falling commodity prices that have gripped markets.
Earnings season will ramp up significantly this week with nearly 130 S&P 500 companies scheduled to report, including Apple Inc after the close Monday.
According to Thomson Reuters data through Monday morning, of 87 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported quarterly earnings, 63.2% have beat analyst expectations, roughly even with the 63% average since 1994 but below the 67% rate for the past four quarters.
Third-quarter earnings are expected to increase 6.7% from a year earlier on revenue growth of 3.6%.
The largest percentage gainer on the S&P 500 was Tesoro Corp., which rose 7.1%, while the largest percentage decliner was IBM.
The largest percentage gainer on the Nasdaq 100 was Celgene, up 4.6%, while the largest percentage decliner was Cisco Systems, down 1.7%.
Among the most active NYSE stocks were Bank of America up 0.2% at $16.24 U.S, Petrobras, down 6.7% at $13.93 U.S, and Oi S.A., down 5.2% at 48 cents U.S.
On the NASDAQ, Apple, up 1.9% at $99.55 U.S. and Facebook, up 1.1% at $76.75 U.S., were among the most actively traded.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained, lowering yields to 2.17% from Friday’s 2.19%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid 26 cents to $82.41 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $5.40 to $1,246.30 U.S. an ounce.
