Canada's main stock index hurtled higher on Monday, lifted by mining shares, as precious metal prices extended gains and helped the commodities-heavy benchmark climb for a second straight session.
The TSX soared 357.88 points, or 1.1%, to pause for noon hour Monday at 32,828.86
The Canadian dollar climbed 0.46 cents to 73.67 cents U.S.
In corporate news, U.S. insurer AIG said on Friday after the bell that it has completed the acquisition of a 9.9% stake in Canadian asset manager Onex.
Onex shares surrendered $1.27, or 1.2%, to $105.39.
However, shares of Vizsla Silver plunged 64 cents, or 10.2%, to $5.63 after the miner said that abducted workers from its project site in Concordia, Mexico have been found dead.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange edged up 9.54 points to 1,024.88.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher midday, with gold bouncing 3.8%, materials up 3.7%, and health-care better by 1%.
The three laggards proved to be utilities, down 0.4%, while consumer staples and real-estate each stumbled 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 rose on Monday, boosted by technology stocks, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached new heights as investors awaited critical economic data and another batch of earnings reports following a volatile week that ended with the 30-stock index reaching a key milestone.
The Dow Jones Industrials sagged 9.69 points, to 50,105.98
The much-broader index gained 45.96 points to 6,978.26.
The NASDAQ popped 281.16 points to 23,312.38.
Nvidia and Broadcom were standouts yet again Monday, extending their gains from the previous session with an advance of 3% and 4%, respectively.
Shares of fellow artificial intelligence player Oracle were up 10% after receiving an upgrade to buy from neutral at D.A. Davidson due to optimism around OpenAI and its beneficiaries.
The developments come after the major averages rebounded Friday, with the Dow exceeding 50,000 for the first time ever, following sizable losses suffered earlier in the week. The rout was sparked by a sell-off in tech, led by software stocks. Bitcoin also plunged before recovering some as investors took a risk-off posture.
It also comes after ADP reported last week that private payrolls increased by a mere 22,000 in January, well below expectations. Economists polled by Dow Jones anticipate the closely watched jobs report will show a gain of 55,000 in January.
The January consumer price index reading — which was also delayed by the shutdown — is due out Friday, with the consensus looking for a 2.5% annual rate.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury relaxed a bit, lowering yields Friday’s 4.21%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices took on $1.15 to $64.70 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices brightened $109.90 to $5,089.70 U.S. an ounce.
