Canada's main stock index rose slightly on Monday as heavyweight energy producers were boosted by higher oil prices and financial stocks also gained, offsetting falls in major gold miners as bullion slipped.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 18.97 points to close at 14,709.80
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.38 cents to 87.92 cents U.S.
Fighting in Libya and Ukraine and a slip in the U.S. dollar helped Brent crude prices rise before settling into negative territory.
Still, companies such as Canadian Natural Resources, erased 0.7% to $40.57, while TransCanada Corp., gained 0.4% at $56.26.
Oil prices have fallen by almost 30% since June amid strong supply and weak global demand growth.
BlackBerry gained 5.8% to $12.63. The technology company's CEO told the media that it has completed the first phase of its two-year turnaround plan, is focused on profitability, and will not spread itself thin by attempting to launch too many new devices.
On the negative side, a slip in the price of gold flowed through to major miners, with Barrick Gold down 6.5% at $12.90 and Goldcorp off 4.4% at $21.69.
Bank stocks helped support the gains, with Toronto-Dominion Bank added 1% to $56.34 and Bank of Nova Scotia up 1.1% at $68.20.
Data released overnight showed that China's export growth slowed to 11.6% in October from a year earlier, beating analysts' expectations of a 10% rise.
October's export growth was down from September's 15.3% growth.
Imports rose 4.6% from a year earlier, slightly below forecasts calling for a 5% gain.
The trade surplus of the world's second-biggest economy also beat expectations as it widened in October to $45.4 billion U.S. from $30.9 billion in September, higher than the forecast calling for a $42.3-billion surplus.
Other data showed China's consumer price index rose 1.6% in October from a year earlier, the same increase as in September.
Domestically, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp reported the seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts declined to 183,604 units last month from a revised 197,355 units in September.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 4.76 points to 765.50.
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher, with consumer staples soaring 1.9%, while information technology clicked 1.8% higher, and real-estate improved 1.3%.
The five laggards were weighed mostly by gold, stumbling 5.9%, while materials staggered 2.8%, and energy moved down 1.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks stepped modestly higher on Monday, with health-care companies leading the charge that again lifted benchmarks to records, as investors tracked corporate results as the earnings season starts to wind down.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 39.81 points to 17,613.74
The S&P 500 eked up 6.34 points to 2,038.26. The NASDAQ index gained 19.09 points to 4,651.62.
Time Warner Cable, Comcast and Cablevision Systems declined after President Barack Obama urged an "explicit ban on paid prioritization" to protect the open internet, saying in a statement that there should not be any slowing of internet content. Time Warner and Comcast both sell broadband service.
McDonald's gained after the fast-food chain and Dow component reported same-store sales slid in October. Toll Brothers climbed after the luxury homebuilder reported a 29% increase in quarterly revenue.
Alibaba Group rose ahead of Tuesday's "Singles' Day" in China, which has become the biggest day of online sales globally.Dendreon plunged after the maker of a prostate-cancer treatment filed for bankruptcy.
Abercrombie & Fitch fell after Oppenheimer downgraded the retailer's shares to market perform from outperform.
Of the 442 S&P 500 companies to report earnings through Friday, 74.2% topped Wall Street estimates, with earnings expected to increase 9.8%from the year-earlier period, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries sagged, raising yields to 2.36% from Friday’s 2.31%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped $1.49 to $77.16 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices moved lower $11.90 to $1,147.90 U.S. an ounce.
