(Toronto) Canada’s main stock index rose Monday, as strength in technology and financial stocks outweighed weakness in other sectors, while U.S. markets also advanced.
Published at 9:40 a.m.
Updated at 5:39 p.m.
Rosa Saba
The Canadian Press
The Dow Jones outperformed major U.S. indexes on Monday, rising 0.7%, as some big tech companies weighed on other parts of the market.
“This is simply a continuation of certain sectors that recovered after the election,” analyzed Stephen Duench, vice-president and portfolio manager at AGF Investments.
This rise was led by so-called “Trump values,” that is, those that could benefit from the policies promised by future President Donald Trump. These include domestic financials and industrial stocks, as well as bitcoin and the U.S. dollar, Duench said.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 304.14 points to 44,293.13 points, while the broader S&P 500 index climbed 5.81 points to 6,001.35 points. The NASDAQ composite index for its part appreciated by 11.99 points to 19,298.76 points.
The S&P/TSX composite index on the Toronto floor gained 29.88 points to end the session with 24,789.28 points.
Bitcoin surpassed US$87,000 for the first time, riding the post-election wave as Mr Trump pledged to make the US the cryptocurrency capital of the world.
Overall, investors are in a risk-taking mood since the election results, Mr. Duench observed, with commodities showing more weakness as investors abandon their safe havens.
“While gold has suffered since the election, bitcoin has benefited due to a bit more risky behavior,” he said.
The Russell 2000 – an index composed of small-cap stocks in the United States – has also seen good gains since the election, Mr. Duench noted.
This week, the United States will release its latest inflation report, after the US Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate again last week.
Investors also continue to navigate earnings season, which is almost over in the United States but still in full swing in Canada.
This season has been characterized by very strong reactions to company results that have failed to meet expectations, according to Mr. Duench.
“Companies that did not achieve their turnover or profit targets were punished more harshly than usual,” he said.
This phenomenon was even more pronounced in Canada, he added.
This is probably a symptom of the record highs reached by the markets. “Investors like booms,” he noted.
On the currency market, the Canadian dollar traded at an average rate of 71.82 US cents, according to XE.com, down from 71.88 US cents on Friday.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of crude oil fell by US$2.34, to US$68.04 per barrel, while that of natural gas rose by 25 US cents, to 2.92. US$ per million BTUs.
Gold prices fell US$77.10 to US$2,617.70 per ounce and copper prices fell US$8 cents to US$4.23 per pound.
With information from the Associated Press
