TORONTO: Canada's main stock index rose on Monday, boosted by gains in materials and financial shares, while investors shrugged off fears of a global trade war following a chaotic G7 meeting.
At 9:34 a.m. ET (1334 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Composite index was up 41.19 points, or 0.25 percent, at 16,243.88.
The financial sector gained 0.3 percent, while the materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners, added 0.5 percent.
Spot gold was up 0.17 percent at $1,300 per ounce, with investors awaiting key central bank policy meetings and the United States-North Korea summit this week for direction.
US President Donald Trump threw the G7's efforts to show a united front into disarray after taking aim at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, firing off a volley of tweets venting anger on NATO allies.
Biggest boosts among the financials stocks were shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank and Royal Bank of Canada, both gaining about 0.4 percent.
Ten of the index's eleven major sectors were higher, led by the financials sector.
Mexican Economy Minister Guajardo said the only way countries re-negotiating the NAFTA deal will find a solution is through "sufficient flexibility" to narrow differences.
The Canadian dollar weakened after US President Donald Trump disrupted the G7's efforts to show a united front and bashed Canada's leader as "very dishonest," though market reaction was relatively muted.
On the TSX, 143 issues were higher, while 88 issues declined for a 1.63-to-1 ratio favouring gainers, with 8.53 million shares traded.
The top percentage gainer on the TSX was Ivanhoe Mines Ltd , which jumped 8.7 percent after news of a unit of Chinese conglomerate CITIC Ltd to buy a near 20 percent stake Ivanhoe for about C$723 million ($555 million).
Top decliner on the TSX were shares of Prometic Life Sciences Inc, which fell 6.9 percent.
Second biggest decliner was Aurora Cannabis down 2.4 percent, the cannabis firm signed a supply deal with U.K. based cannabis producer and distributor Ascent Industries.
The most heavily traded shares by volume were Bombardier Inc and Aurora Cannabis.
Bombardier and its partners have been awarded a $4.9 billion contract to build and operate a passenger transit system at the Los Angeles International Airport.
The TSX posted two new 52-week highs and one new low.
Across all Canadian issues there were 20 new 52-week highs and two new lows, with total volume of 15.13 million shares.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.