Equities in Toronto added to gains in morning trading on Monday, with rises for banks and miners offsetting energy shares' declines as the price of oil pulled back.
The S&P/TSX Composite gained 50.4 points to pause for noon at 14,690.28
The Canadian dollar faded 0.1 cents at 76.79 cents U.S.
The most influential movers on the index included Toronto-Dominion Bank, which rose 0.6% to $57.64, and Royal Bank of Canada, up 0.4% at $81.87.
The heavyweight financial sector had produced a string of encouraging bank earnings reports last week, including from TD, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Bank of Montreal.
The energy group fell on lower oil prices due to high output from Middle Eastern producers and a stronger U.S. dollar, in which the commodity is priced.
Suncor Energy lost 0.6% to $36.27.
Pipeline companies lost ground, with Enbridge down 1.1% at $51.38 and Pembina Pipeline Corp off 0.9% at $39.31.
Among material stocks, Ivanhoe Mines jumped 13% to $1.89 after it said it planned to hire an investment bank to review expressions of interest the company and its projects have received in recent months.
Teck Resources Ltd rose 4% to $21.57.
Major gold miners also pushed the sector higher even as prices of the metal slid to a nearly five-week low after comments from top Federal Reserve officials fueled speculation that U.S. interest rates would rise sooner rather than later.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 1.37 points to 804.16
Eight of the 12 subgroups remained positive midday, as gold shone brighter 1.6%, materials took on 1.4%, and industrials were stronger by 0.7%.
The four laggards were weighed most by health-care, off 1%, real-estate sagging 0.6%, and information technology, down 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Monday as investors digested economic data while looking for clues about the U.S. Federal Reserve's next move.
The Dow Jones Industrials rocketed 123.52 points to 18,518.92, with DuPont leading advancers and Walt Disney the greatest laggard.
The S&P 500 gained 12.88 points to 2,181.92, with financials leading all sectors higher.
The NASDAQ Composite hiked 22.01 points to 5,240.93.
In corporate news, Mylan said it would launch an EpiPen generic at a 50% discount to the branded product's list price. The pharmaceutical firm has been under amid the rapid price increases for the EpiPen.
Meanwhile, activist investor Carl Icahn said late Friday he bought 2.3 million shares of Herbalife after Bill Ackman said he was approached indirectly by Icahn to buy the billionaire's stake in Herbalife.
In the economic basket, consumer spending in the U.S. rose 0.3% in July, in line with expectations. The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed's preferred inflation indicator, rose 0.1% last month and is up 1.6% over the 12 months through July.
There are no more economic data due Monday, but investors are already looking ahead to the August jobs report, due Friday, as the odds of a rate hike next month have recently increased.
Market expectations for a Fed rate hike in September were at 30% Monday, after hovering close to 18% for most of last week
Prices for the 10-year Treasury strengthened, lowering yields to 1.59% from Friday’s 1.62%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 86 cents at $46.78 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices regained $1.20 at $1,327.10 U.S. an ounce.
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