Canada's main stock index rose on Monday, driven by gains in energy stocks and as strong economic data from China boosted sentiment.
The TSX prospered 187.9 points, or 1.2%, to pause for lunch Monday at 16,253.25
The Canadian dollar settled 0.02 cents to 74.72 cents U.S.
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Cascades, which rose 83 cents, or 5.5%, to $15.81, after RBC upgraded the rating of the stock to sector perform from underperform.
Methanol producer Methanex gained $2.39, or 8%, to $32.21.
Lundin Mining fell 64 cents, or 8.3%, the most on the TSX, to $7.07, after a fatal accident at its Neves-Corvo mine in Portugal, while Altus Group came out of the gully to gain 25 cents to $53.44.
The most heavily traded shares by volume were Lundin Mining, Green Organic Dutchman Holdings, which docked five cents, or 17%, to 25 cents, and Just Energy Group, down six cents, or 12.9%, to 41 cents.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange leaped 10.56 points, or 1.5%, to 705.82.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were up during the morning, with energy gushing 2.7%, financials higher 2.3%, and consumer discretionary climbing 1.9%.
The two laggards were in gold and materials, each off 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose sharply on Monday as Wall Street built on the strong gains from the previous session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average screamed higher 482.57 points, or 1.8%, midday to 27,656.53.
The S&P 500 spiked 50.64 points, or 1.5%, to 3,349.10.
The NASDAQ leaped 136.18 points, or 1.3%, to 11,050.55.
Shares of major tech names rose broadly. Facebook advanced 0.6%, and Amazon climbed 1.7%. Apple was up 1%. Alphabet advanced 1.1% and Microsoft traded higher by 0.8%.
Bank stocks also contributed to Monday’s gains. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley all popped more than 2%.
Sentiment on Wall Street got a boost after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday a last-minute coronavirus aid deal remains on the table as House Democrats try to forge ahead on a smaller aid package costing about $2.4 trillion. The chamber could vote on the bill as soon as next week. Still, that price tag is well above what Republican leadership has indicated it will support for a new package.
Investors also cheered a slew of corporate dealmaking activity. Devon Energy and WPX Energy announced they will mover forward with a merger of equals, sending their stocks up 5% and 8.2%, respectively. Meanwhile, Caesars Entertainment revealed a cash offer to buy London-based William Hill for 2.9 billion pounds.
Shares of companies that would benefit from the economy reopening caught a bid. Carnival Corp picked up 1.8%, and American Airlines was up 2.8%.
Still, major averages are on track to post steep losses for September, a historically weak month for stocks. The Dow dropped off 2%, and the S&P 500 has fallen nearly 4.4%, while the NASDAQ has declined 6.1%. The declines followed a massive comeback from the coronavirus selloff that saw the S&P 500 climb more than 50% from its March bottom.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury were static, maintaining yields at Friday’s 0.66%.
Oil prices recaptured 19 cents to $40.44 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices climbed $10.60 to $1,876.90 U.S. an ounce.
