Canada's main stock index climbed to a more than 13-week high on Monday, as the energy sector got a boost from higher oil prices and talks to update the North American Free Trade Agreement entered a crucial week.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index vaulted 105.71 points to greet noon at 15,835.11
The Canadian dollar faded 0.02 cents to 77.79 cents U.S.
Shares of Canadian Natural Resources and Encana Corp were the biggest boosts to the energy sector, which gained 1.5%
However, Ensign Energy Services, down 6.2%, was the only company in the sector to be lower after the oilfield services provider reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss.
Among stocks, Crescent Point Energy Corp rose 3.1% as its shareholders on Friday voted to elect the Canadian energy producer's full slate of directors after a contentious battle with activist investor Cation Capital.
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Baytex Energy Co, which rose 6.3%. Desjardins raised its price target on the company's stock.
Ministers from Canada, the United States and Mexico meet in Washington on Monday to discuss the North American Free Trade Agreement deal, and will seek to resolve an impasse in key areas.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 1.94 points to 774.18
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were in positive country, as energy leaped 2.1%, health-care was better by 1%, and information technology triumphed 0.8%.
The two laggards were telecoms, down 0.2%, and utilities, descending 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks kicked off the week trading higher on Monday as investors built on a strong rally seen in the previous session, while energy shares rose.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 158.29 points – off its highs of the day -- to 24,420.80, with Caterpillar and Exxon Mobil as the best-performing stocks.
The S&P 500 added 13.27 points to 2,676.69, as energy climbed 2%.
The NASDAQ jumped 64.08 points to 7,273.70
In corporate news, Nestle agreed to pay $7.15 billion to Starbucks to for the rights to sell the coffee chain's products globally. Starbucks shares briefly rose before trading slightly lower.
Meanwhile, Blackstone reached a deal with Gramercy Property Trust to buy it for $7.6 billion in cash. Gramercy's stock shot up more than 15%.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury were lower, raising yields to 2.96% from Friday’s 2.95%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices ballooned 80 cents a barrel to $70.52 U.S.
Gold prices docked 20 cents to $1,314.90 U.S. an ounce.
