Stocks Dart Higher as Canadians Vote
Canada's main stock index opened higher on Monday, as investors prepared for the outcome of the general election in the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war.
The TSX Composite Index regained 73.1 points to open Monday at 24,783.61
The Canadian dollar inched higher 0.06 at 72.15 cents U.S.
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre wrapped up their campaigns on Sunday. Carney's Liberal Party held a narrow lead in popular support ahead of the final voting, according to pollsters.
Election results will trickle in, starting in eastern provinces, after polls close at staggered times on Monday evening.
In corporate news, Propel Holdings announced that it has increased its existing credit facility for CreditFresh from $70 million to $400 million. Shares in Propel began the week up 71 cents, or 2.7%, $27.47.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved up 1.43 points to 655.25.
All but three of the 12 subgroups were higher in the first hour, led by information technology, up 0.7%, while energy and financials prospered 0.4% each.
The three laggards were gold, dulling 0.7%, while health-care wilted 0.4%, and materials slid 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 moved higher Monday ahead of a packed week for earnings and economic data. Wall Street is also awaiting any progress on trade deal negotiations.
The Dow Jones Industrials hiked 109.18 points to start the week at 40,303.68
The much-broader index strengthened 16.33 points to 5,541.54.
The NASDAQ Composite jumped 40.2 points to 17,423.14.
This week will mark the end of April, which has seen stocks whipsaw across a wide trading range after Trump unveiled his sweeping tariff plans and then later walked some of the stiffer duties back.
So far in April, the S&P 500 is down by more than 1%, while the Dow is on track to lose nearly 4%. The NASDAQ is up almost 1%.
The S&P 500 briefly entered a bear market on April 7 and has made a recovery since, but the index has failed to break through key resistance levels.
On Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered little clarity on the direction of reaching a possible trade agreement with China, but said that the onus was not on the United States. On the positive side, however, Bessent said that they were making progress on other trade proposals, suggesting a deal with India would be “one of the first” to come.
His comments come after President Donald Trump said last week that discussions with China were underway, refuting China’s claims of no trade talks between the two countries.
Investors are also looking ahead to the busiest period of the first-quarter earnings season, which will see more than 180 S&P 500 companies report results. Four of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ companies— Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms and Microsoft — will release their quarterly reports, as will financial, staples and health care stocks Visa, Coca-Cola, and Eli Lilly.
Earnings results have been somewhat strong for the prior quarter, with 73% of companies reporting beating analysts’ estimates so far — slightly below the five-year average of 77%, according to FactSet data.
Still, Wall Street is lowering expectations for the second quarter and the full year as companies come out with uncertain guidance because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury dropped a bit Monday, raising yields to 4.27% from Friday’s 4.26%. Treasury prices and yields in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost 15 cents to $62.87 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold recovered $4.80 to $3,303.30 U.S.
