Canada's main stock index rose midday Monday, with energy and banking shares both jumping 1%
The S&P/TSX Composite climbed 149.62 points, or 1.1%, to break for noon hour at 14,409.46
The Canadian dollar slumped 0.52 cents to 76.17 cents U.S.
The index is less than 60 points shy of the 14,450 level it peaked at in early June, breaching that would put it at its highest since August last year.
Royal Bank of Canada rose 1.1% to $78.20, Toronto-Dominion Bank advanced 1% to $55.65, and Bank of Nova Scotia added 1.2% to $64.03.
Insurers also gained, with Manulife Financial up 1.3% to $17.19 and Sun Life Financial rising 1.6% to $41.69. Brookfield Asset Management advanced 1.3% to $44.67.
Barrick Gold Corp declined 0.9% to $28.83, Goldcorp Inc slipped 0.8% to $25.79, and Franco Nevada Corp fell 1.4% to $101.87.
The energy group climbed, with pipeline operator Enbridge up 1.3% to $54.55, Suncor Energy adding 0.9% to $36.61, and Canadian Natural Resources rising 1.5% to $40.92.
Thomson Reuters, parent company of Reuters News, advanced 1.3% to $53.98 after it said it would sell its intellectual property and science business for $3.55 billion.
Meanwhile, shares in Mitel Networks Corp fell 1% to $9.28 after its deal to buy Polycom Inc was thwarted by a rival bid.
On the economic beat, Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that the seasonally-adjusted annualized rate of housing starts in this country rose to 218,333 in June, up from a revised 186,709 in May. Economists had forecast 190,000 starts in June.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 8.29 points, or 1.1%, to 760.41
All 13 subgroups gained ground, led by metals and mining, hiking 3.7%, consumer discretionaries up 1.7%, and consumer staples, up 1.6%
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities traded higher on Monday as investors cheered an election in Japan and tried to extend a jobs-report rally.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 107.67 points to 18,253.91, with Boeing leading advancers and Verizon the greatest laggard.
The S&P 500 gained 10.05 points to 2,139.95, breaking a previous record set May 20, 2015. In late-morning trade, information technology led the S&P, with utilities lagging.
The NASDAQ Composite Index marched ahead 37.78 points to 4,994.54
On deck this week is the start of earnings season, with Alcoa set to report quarterly results Monday after the close. Later this week, a slew of financial firms will post results, including JPMorgan Chase, and Citigroup.
The U.S. Federal Reserve will also release its latest edition of the Beige Book, a summary of current economic conditions released eight times a year.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury dipped, raising yields to 1.42% from Friday’s 1.36%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 50 cents a barrel to $44.91 U.S.
Gold prices gained $1.60 to $1,360 U.S. an ounce.
