Canada's main equity index traded positive on Monday fueled by strength in cannabis stocks and news that the United States and Mexico reached a deal to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 88.34 points at 16,444.39.
The United States and Mexico reached a deal on Monday to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and talks with Canada were expected to begin immediately in the hopes of reaching a final agreement by Friday, a senior U.S. trade official said.
The biggest advancers on the TSX were Aurora Cannabis, up 7.7 percent, Aphria, up 6.9 percent and Linamar, higher by 6.6 percent.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.79 cents to 77.16 cents
Gold prices inched higher Monday after scoring their first weekly advance in nearly two months through Friday, when the U.S. dollar retreated for the week after an update on the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate stance. The December gold contract rose $4.20 (U.S.) at $1,217.50 (U.S.) an ounce and the September copper contract was up 1.60 cents at $2.72 (U.S.) a pound.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange strengthened 5.27 points to 716.64.
Twelve of the subgroups closed higher, with health-care soaring 3.11%, consumer discretionary issues up by 1.45% and base metal stocks up 1.49 percent.
On the downside - utility stocks shed 0.30 percent.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks gained Monday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closing at records for a second straight session, as the market rallied on enthusiasm over a new trade deal between the U.S. and Mexico.
It is also the first time the Nasdaq traded above 8,000, taking the tech-laden index 164 trading days to rise 1,000 points from 7,000. It marks the second 1,000-point advance for the Nasdaq this year, something that has not happened since 1999.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 259.29 points, or 1%, to 26,049.64 after the blue-chip index successfully reclaimed the psychologically-important 26,000 mark for the first time since February. The S&P 500 index gained 22.05 points, or 0.8%, to 2,896.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 71.92 points, or 0.9%, to 8,017.90.
On the economic data front, a measure of the U.S. economy from the Chicago Federal Reserve slowed in July from June’s robust performance, owed in large part to lighter output at the nation’s factories. The Chicago Fed’s index of national economic activity registered at a positive 0.13 last month, down from an upwardly revised positive 0.48 in June.
Tesla Inc. shares slipped 1.1% after Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk late Friday said the electric-car maker would remain a public company. According to The Wall Street Journal, Musk was nagged by lingering doubts and unexpected difficulties for his plan to take Tesla private, a plan he unexpectedly announced over Twitter. The stock is up 3.7% thus far this year, with the going-private announcement a catalyst for recent gains. It is up nearly 16% over the past three months.
VMware Inc. shares fell 0.9% after the company said it plans to buy startup CloudHealth, a software platform that lets companies juggle different public cloud vendors. VMware did not disclose a price for the deal in its announcement, but Reuters reported that VMware would pay roughly $500 million.
Arconic Inc. (ARNC), the aluminum products maker, slipped 0.8% on Monday after jumping on Friday following a Reuters report that said the company had expanded the scope of its potential sale to include the whole company just weeks after it put its building and construction unit up for sale.
Oil futures saw subdued trade Monday, threatening to give back some of the previous week’s gains ahead of a conference call between members of a committee monitoring the agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC producers on output levels.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.32 percent, or $0.22, to $68.94 a barrel. Brent crude rose 0.66 percent, or $0.5, to $76.32.
Treasury yields rose Monday as bonds lost some short-term demand after President Donald Trump said his administration had cut a trade deal with Mexico, suggesting the U.S. would overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The 10-year Treasury note yield was up 2.2 basis points to 2.848%. The 2-year yield note yield rose 1.9 basis points to 2.645%, while the 30-year bond yield picked up 2 bass points to 2.996%. Bond prices move in the opposite direction of yields.
