Stocks in Toronto climbed on the back of the energy sector’s shoulders Monday, and managed to retain gains throughout the session.
The TSX Composite stayed positive 60.76 points to conclude Monday at 20,463.42.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.14 cents to 79.20 cents U.S.
Crescent Point Energy hiked 53 cents, or 9.9%, to $5.87, while Enerplus Corporation jumped 88 cents, or 9.8%, to $9.98.
Cannabis concerns also scored well on the last Monday of the month, with Aurora Cannabis racing 49 cents, or 6.5%, to $8.04, while Canopy Growth, well, grew 95 cents, or 5.4%, to $18.56.
Among consumer discretionary stocks, Canada Goose flew $2.01, or 4.2%, to $50.30, while Magna International was in gear $1.69, or 1.7%, to $99.40.
On the other side of the coin, FirstService but a weight on the real-estate sector with a loss of $6.85, or 2.8%, to $234.65, while Colliers International Group slid $4.18, or 2.5%, to $161.03.
In the tech sector, Descartes sank $4.52, or 4.1%, to $104.60, while Evertz Technology swooned 70 cents, or 4.7%, to $14.10.
Utilities also plummeted, with Boralex down $1.49, or 3.9%, to $36.97, while Innergex dipped 54 cents, or 2.6%, to $20.23.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gathered 4.28 points to 880.41.
The 12 TSX sectors were evenly divided, with energy peeling away from the pack 3.3%, health-care brighter by 2.4%, and consumer discretionary stocks improving 0.7%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by information technology and real-estate, each dumping 1%, and utilities, off 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were split on Monday as Treasury yields rose and traders braced for the final week of a volatile September.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 71.37 points to 34,868.37, as tech stocks struggled.
The S&P 500 sank 12.37 points, however, to 4,443.11.
The NASDAQ Composite tumbled 77.73 points to 14,968.97, as energy stocks and bank shares pushed higher.
Major tech stocks including Alphabet, Apple and Nvidia were lower in Monday’s session, weighing on the S&P 500 and NASDAQ. Tech stocks are seen as sensitive to rising yields because increased debt costs can hinder their growth and higher rates can make their future cash flows appear less valuable.
Carnival Corp rose 3.7% and United Airlines added 0.6%. Shares of Boeing jumped 1.3%.
T
he rise in yields appeared to boost financial stocks on Monday, with the KBW Bank Index climbing 2.9%. Shares of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase rose more than 2%, making them some of the best performers in the Dow.
Another bright spot for the market was energy, with stocks like Exxon Mobil and Occidental Petroleum climbing as WTI crude continued its September run, topping $75 a barrel. Natural gas prices also rose on Monday as investors monitored concerns of an energy shortage in Europe.
Also weighing on sentiment was a potential government shutdown to end the week.
Stocks linked to the economic comeback led the early gains as U.S. COVID cases continued to roll over.
U.S. cases averaged about 120,000 per day over the last week, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, down from a 7-day average of more than 166,000 cases at the peak of this latest wave in early September. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said on Sunday that he thought the U.S. could return to normal “within a year” though annual vaccinations might be needed.
Additionally, the August reading for durable goods orders came in well above expectations on Monday, powered in large part by a jump for
the transport sector.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys lost ground, raising yields to 1.49% from Friday’s 1.46%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices climbed $1.49 to $75.47 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $1.60 to $1,750.10 U.S. an ounce.