Canada’s main index edged higher on Monday, powered by gains in energy and tech stocks, while investors braced for political changes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would resign as the Liberal party leader.
The TSX moved higher 78.3 points to reach noon EST Monday at 25,151.84.
The Canadian dollar hiked 0.38 cents to 69.64 cents U.S.
Calls for Trudeau to step aside have grown since December, when his closest ally Chrystia Freeland resigned as the country’s finance minister after clashing with him on issues including how to handle possible U.S. tariffs.
Separately, focus will be on the domestic employment data, scheduled to release on Friday, to gauge the Canadian economy’s health and the interest rate path of the Bank of Canada. Traders are anticipating a near-70% chance for a 25-basis-point rate cut.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange retreated 1.81 points to 621.48.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground, led by energy, up 1.8%, industrials advanced 0.7%, and utilities gained 0.3%.
The four laggards were weighed most by gold, dropping 1.3%, consumer staples, down 1%, and real-estate, losing 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks jumped on Monday, recovering from last week’s losses as chipmakers jumped.
The Dow Jones Industrials leaped 314.46 points to 43,046.59.
The S&P 500 spiked 71.67 points, or 1.2%, to 6,014.14.
The NASDAQ Composite popped 333.30 or 1.7%, to 19,958.97.
Chip stocks led the session’s gains after Foxconn announced record fourth-quarter revenue. Nvidia jumped nearly 5%, putting the chipmaker on track for a record close. Broadcom gained 2%, while Micron Technology advanced more than 11%.
Also aiding market sentiment on Monday is a Washington Post report saying President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff plan would be narrower than anticipated. According to the report, the levies would only cover critical imports. Trump called for “universal” tariffs as high as 10%-20% during his campaign.
Ford shares gained 1.8% and General Motors shares gained 4.2%, on optimism a more restrained tariff policy from Trump wouldn’t spark a global trade war.
Investors are entering another shortened trading week – which will wrap the next of the first five January trading days – on a wobbly note and with lingering concerns about the Federal Reserve’s interest rate projections. The New York Stock Exchange will be closed Thursday to mourn the death of former President Jimmy Carter.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury dropped, raising yields to 4.61% from Thursday’s 4.60 %. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices eked up 11 cents to $74.07 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold declined $3.20 an ounce to $2,651.50 U.S.
