Equities in Canada’s largest centre rose on Monday as banks, some consumer stocks, industrials and materials gained, while energy shares weighed with lower oil prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite remained above water 29.01 points to greet noon at 14,511.43
The Canadian dollar moved backward 0.15 cents to 76.96 cents U.S.
The most influential movers on the index included Valeant Pharmaceutical International Inc, which jumped 5.3% to $31.13 after a company it has a licensing agreement with reported positive results for a new drug.
Canadian Natural Resources, the country's largest natural gas producer, declined 1.3% to $40.81.
Pipeline operators fell, with TransCanada Corp down 0.6% to $60.80. Enbridge Inc shed 0.4% to $53.72, while Suncor Energy, the country's largest oil and gas producer, lost 0.5% to $35.91.
Restaurant Brands International Inc, which owns Tim Hortons and Burger King, rose 2.9% to $55.58.
Pharmacy chain Jean Coutu declined 3.5% to $19.10 after a class action lawsuit was filed against it by pharmacist-owners.
Industrials rose, led by Canadian National Railway’s 0.9% advance to $81.27.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported that offshore investors poured $14.7 billion into Canada during May, mostly government bonds on the secondary market, while Canadian investors added $5.1 billion in foreign holdings, mostly equities.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped into negative territory 2.8 points to 763.56
Nine of the 13 subgroups were higher, with consumer discretionary stocks up 1.5%, health-care up 1.4%, and industrials ahead 0.7%.
The four laggards were weighed most by metals and mining, down 1.8%, while gold stocks were off 0.3%, and energy faded 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose fractionally Monday as Bank of America added to positive earnings momentum, and Japan's Softbank announced a $32-billion U.S. deal to buy a U.K. semiconductor giant.
The Dow Jones Industrials tacked on 22.08 points to Friday’s all-time high to 18,538.63, with Goldman Sachs and Home Depot contributing the most to gains and UnitedHealth leading the blue-chip index lower.
The S&P 500 moved up 2.16 points to 2,163.90, ahead of quarterly reports from IBM, Netflix and Yahoo.
The NASDAQ Composite Index grew 14.55 points to 5,044.12
Second-quarter earnings kick into full gear this week.
Bank of America beat Street expectations on earnings and revenue Monday, with earnings per share of 36 cents U.S., compared to an expected 33 cents, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Following Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase last week, Bank of America is now the third big U.S. financial institution to top second-quarter profit forecasts.
Hasbro posted second-quarter earnings per share of 41 cents U.S., versus the expected 39 cents from analysts polled by Reuters.
Charles Schwab, IBM, Netflix and Yahoo will also post results Monday.
On the data front, U.S. homebuilder sentiment fell one point in July, as foot traffic of potential buyers thinned and construction constraints continued, according to the monthly reading of builder confidence from the National Association of Home Builders.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury dipped, lifting yields to 1.6% from Friday’s 1.58%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost 70 cents a barrel to $45.25 U.S.
Gold prices gained 80 cents to $1,328.20 U.S. an ounce.
