Equities in Toronto rose on Monday as gold miners and major energy companies gained with higher commodity prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was off its highs of the morning, but stil ahead 81.59 points to greet noon at 13,478.32
The Canadian dollar jumped 0.43 cents to 77.41 cents U.S.
The most influential movers on the index included Barrick Gold Corp, which rose 4.5% to $20.63 as gold hit a multi-week high, and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd, which advanced 3.4% to $181.24.
CP said on Monday it had scrapped efforts to buy Norfolk Southern Corp, almost six months after launching an unsolicited $28 billion bid for the fourth-largest U.S. railroad operator.
The materials group moved higher despite losses for major fertilizer producers Potash Corp, off 1% to $20.56, and Agrium Inc, down 1% at $112.84.
The financials group gained, with Royal Bank of Canada rising 0.8% to $75.38 and Toronto-Dominion Bank advanced 0.9% to $54.95.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange bolted higher 11.59 points, or 1.9%, to 615.42
Seven of the 13 TSX subgroups were higher by noon hour, with gold soaring 4.6%, metals and mining up 4.3%, and materials advancing 3.3%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by health-care, retreating 1.1%, while telecoms and information technology each faded 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Equities stateside traded slightly higher Monday, helped by stabilization in oil prices and gains overseas, as investors await earnings season.
The Dow Jones Industrials remained positive 57.56 points to 17,634.72, with Goldman Sachs leading advancers and Nike the greatest laggard.
The S&P 500 added 3.37 points to 2,050.97. Materials and financials led S&P 500 advancers while telecommunications was among the greatest decliners.
The NASDAQ index took on 12.58 points to 4,863.27. All three indices were off their highs of the morning.
Alcoa is set to start off the first-quarter reporting season unofficially with its earnings after the close, while major banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup are all due to post results later in the week.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury faded, lifting yields slightly to 1.73% from Thursday’s 1.72%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 63 cents a barrel to $40.35 U.S.
Gold prices spiked $16.84 to $1,257.53 U.S. an ounce.
