Equity markets rose on Monday, helped by gains in health-care energy shares on the back of recovery in oil prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index prospered 98.42 points to conclude Monday at 15,217.70
The Canadian dollar faded 0.01 cents to 76.32 cents U.S.
Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz welcomed the recent financial market developments, especially market volatility, a stronger U.S. dollar and higher yields for long-term bonds.
Health-care companies perked, helped by a rise of $1.80, or 5.7%, in shares of Bausch Health Companies, which will announce results on Tuesday. Bausch ended Monday at $33.50.
Canopy Growth jumped $3.60, or 7.4%, to $52.52.
Other gainers on the TSX included Birchcliff Energy, which rose 34 cents, or 8.3%, to $4.44. Imperial Oil picked up 17 cents to $42.20.
In consumer staples, Loblaw Companies darted $2.37, or 4.6%, to $54.47, while Maple Leaf Foods gained 25 cents to $29.75.
Tech firms took some lumps, though, as Constellation Software dived $4.16 to $896.65, while Shopify dumped $6.46, or 3.4%, to $184.49.
Among materials, Agnico Eagle Mines faded $1.23, or 2.5%, to $47.60, while First Quantum Minerals 49 cents, or 3.6%, to $13.00.
Sleep Country Canada Holdings fell 43 cents, or 1.8%., to $23.41, after analysts cut price targets.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 8.01 points, or 1.2%, to 659.36
All but three of the 12 subgroups were gainers, as health-care stocks zoomed 4.3%, while consumer staples and energy each strengthened 2.1%.
The three laggards were information technology, off 1.2%, materials, sinking 0.9%, and consumer discretionaries, down 1%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 rose on Monday as gains in Berkshire Hathaway buoyed the broader financials sector.
The 30-stock index climbed 190.87 points to 25,461.70. The Dow also climbed as Chevron shares jumped 3.7% to lead the energy sector higher. Chevron rose after Credit Suisse upgraded it to outperform from neutral, noting the company has a compelling free cash flow and valuation.
The S&P 500 gained 15.25 points to 2,738.31
The NASDAQ fell 28.14 points to 7,328.85, as Apple and Amazon both fell more than 2%.
Berkshire Hathaway's Class B shares climbed 4.7% after Warren Buffett's conglomerate disclosed over the weekend it bought back nearly $1 billion of its own shares in August. Financials rose 1.4% while Citigroup gained 2.1%, and Bank of America picked up 0.6%. J.P. Morgan Chase advanced 0.7%.
Apple shares fell after Rosenblatt Securities downgraded Apple amid expectations of lower iPhone sales. This is Apple's second downgrade since it released its latest quarterly report. The stock is down more than 8 percent in that time period.
Amazon's stock pulled back after President Donald Trump said the administration was looking into antitrust violations committed by the e-commerce giant.
U.S. voters will head to the polls on Tuesday for high-stakes elections that can send ripples throughout capital markets. Democrats are largely expected to regain control of the House, with Republicans forecast to retain a slim majority in the Senate. This outcome is seen as largely positive as, historically, a government has led to solid gains in the stock market.
If the GOP maintains a majority in both chambers, it could give stocks a short-term boost as it increases the likelihood of further tax cuts. Meanwhile, a so-called Democratic sweep could pressure stocks as it could lead to a reversal of some of the policies passed by the GOP to boost the economy.
The Democrats were leading with a seven-point advantage ahead of the contest, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Sunday.
Investors are also grappling with uncertainty on the trade front. On Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his rhetoric against protectionism and commitment to free trade in a speech. Xi said his country was pursuing "a new round of high-standard opening up" to broaden market access to the rest of the world.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained slightly, lowering yields to 3.20% from Friday’s 3.22%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost 36 cents to $62.78 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gave back $1.20 an ounce to $1,232.10 U.S.
