Canada’s main stock index rose on Monday as higher commodity prices bolstered the energy and materials sectors, although concerns around rising U.S. bond yields kept sentiment in check.
The TSX Composite Index grabbed 60.81 points to break for lunch Monday at 21,916.57.
Markets throughout North America were shuttered Friday for Good Friday.
The Canadian dollar forged ahead 0.3 cents to 79.29 cents U.S.
Energy issues were the runaway leaders midday, with Vermilion Energy galloping $1.66, or 6%, to $29.13, while Paramount Resources leaped $1.72, or 5.6%, to $32.70.
Pot producers including Canopy Growth, which ditched 65 cents, or 7.6%, to $7.95, Tilray Brands, bowing 34 cents, or 4.5%, and
Aurora Cannabis, falling 21 cents, or 4.7%, to $4.25, among the top decliners.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange tacked on 1.82 points to 894.32.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower by noon, with health-care plunging 3.6%, while information technology slid 0.8%, and utilities were off 0.3%.
The five gainers were led by energy, soaring 2.7%, materials, up 1.4%, and gold, better by 1.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 fell slightly on Monday as a big week of earnings kicked off, with Bank of America posting better-than-expected results, while traders kept an eye on rates.
The Dow Jones Industrials slumped 93.48 points to 34,357.75.
The S&P 500 slipped 10.81 points to 4,381.81
The NASDAQ Composite dropped 62.72 points to 13,288.36.
Charles Schwab fell about 8% after the discount broker reported a quarterly miss on earnings and revenue estimates. Bank of New York Mellon shares fell more than 3% after the company reported lower profits for the first quarter.
Didi shares lost 14% after the Chinese ride-hailing company reported a 12.7% drop in fourth-quarter revenue. Other U.S.-traded Chinese stocks posted significant losses as well.
Meanwhile, Bank of America reported quarterly results Monday showing a 13% year-over-year drop in earnings per share, though the results were slightly higher than expected. The stock gained 2.1%. Shares of fellow big banks JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo rose more than 1%. Citi rose 3.6%.
Synchrony Financial was one of the top gainers in the S&P, posting a 4.7% gain after it reported an earnings beat.
Technology bellwethers are set to report quarterly earnings this week, with Netflix due on Tuesday and Tesla out on Wednesday. Snap reports Thursday. United Airlines, American Airlines and Alaska Air are also on the calendar, as are railroads CSX and Union Pacific. Several
Dow blue-chip names also report earnings this week, including IBM, Procter and Gamble,
Earnings season is off to a decent start with 81.5% of S&P 500 companies reporting earnings per share above expectations.
Elsewhere, Twitter shares were up 4.7% at about $46.09 per share. The move comes after Twitter announced Friday that the board adopted a limited duration shareholder rights plan, often referred to as a “poison pill.” The move comes after billionaire Elon Musk offered to buy the company for $43 billion.
Treasury prices dipped, raising yields however slightly to 2.85%, from Thursday’s 2.83%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices stayed afloat $1.07 to $108.02 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hiked $16.30 to $1,991.20 U.S. an ounce.
S&P Unchanged at Start of Earnings Week