Strong gold prices boosted Canada’s main stock index futures on Monday, as caution ahead of the U.S. presidential election bolstered demand for the precious metal.
The TSX dropped 90.06 points to conclude Friday and the week at 15,580.64, for a loss on the week of 723 points, or 4.44%.
The Canadian dollar jumped 0.43 cents Monday at 75.22 cents U.S.
December futures rallied 0.9% Monday.
National Bank of Canada cut the target price on Atco Ltd. to $45.00 from $46.00
Canaccord Genuity raised the rating on Mav Beauty Brands to buy from hold.
ATB Capital Markets cut the target price SNC-Lavalin Group to $41.00 from $42.00
In the economic basket, the Markit Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for October is due this morning (9:30 EST)
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 3.36 points to close out Friday and the week at 683.78, backtracking 34.34 points over the last five sessions, or 4.78%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures rallied in early trading Monday as the stock market looked to bounce back from a brutal week and month.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials rocketed 390 points, or 1.5%, to 26,784.
Futures for the S&P 500 gained 38 points, or 1.2%, at 3,302.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite picked up 86.75 points, or 0.8%, to 11,133.
The blue-chip Dow just closed out October with a 4.6% loss, marking its worst monthly performance since March. The S&P 500 docked 2.8, and the NASDAQ slumped 2.3% last month, both suffering their second straight negative month.
The major averages are coming off their worst week since March 20 as coronavirus cases surged, fiscal stimulus negotiations fell apart and as shares of megacap tech companies including Apple and Amazon slumped following their quarterly earnings reports.
The market’s comeback came even as England adopted a stay-at-home order to fight the coronavirus and as traders braced for Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Saturday England is closing all nonessential businesses for the next four weeks after more than 22,600 weekly Covid-19 cases were reported for the U.K., far higher than its first peak of 4,800 average weekly cases in the spring. People will be ordered to stay at home unless it’s for essential purposes, Johnson said.
The U.S. is also grappling with rising new coronavirus infections. The nation reported 99,321 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, beating its previous record set only a day prior, according to Johns Hopkins University. The top five records in daily cases have all been reported within the last eight days.
Ahead of Tuesday’s election, Joe Biden holds a substantial national lead over President Donald Trump. The former vice president garnered 52% of support from registered voters versus 42% for the president, according to a NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll from Sunday.
The Senate election could also be crucial for the markets as many key policy
Apart from the election, investors are faced with other key events later this week, including a Federal Reserve policy meeting and October’s jobs report.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 1.4% Monday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index advanced 1.5%.
Oil prices slipped 80 cents to $34.99 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices strengthened nine dollars to $1,888.90.