Toronto market rallies as negative vibe eases
By Fergal Smith
(Reuters) -Canada's main stock index rose on Monday, including gains for technology and heavily-weighted financial shares, as investors put behind them some of the pessimism that weighed on markets at the end of last week.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended up 157.94 points, or 0.8%, at 19,620.80.
The TSX's move is "in line with the rebound south of the border," said Kevin Headland, co-chief investment strategist at Manulife Investment Management. "Both markets are bouncing off some of the negativity from last week."
U.S. stocks ended sharply higher as investors were optimistic about the start of earnings season.
Conflict in the Middle East and hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data have rattled investors in recent days. The Canadian inflation report for September is due on Tuesday.
The data "will feed through to Bank of Canada expectations," Headland.
Money markets see a roughly 40% chance the central bank will tighten further at a policy decision next week.
More Canadian firms see inflation easing over the next two years than in the previous quarter, while the business outlook fell to its lowest level since the pandemic, the BoC said in a third-quarter survey.
All 10 of the Toronto market's major groups ended higher. Technology rose 1.3%, while financials, which account for 28% of the Toronto market's weighting, were up 1.1%.
Gains for energy were more modest. The sector rose 0.3% as oil settled 1.2% lower at $86.66 a barrel, giving back some of Friday's rally.
Tourmaline Oil agreed to buy rival Bonavista Energy for C$1.45 billion ($1.06 billion) in cash and stock, strengthening its position in Western Canada's Deep Basin. Its shares advanced 3.2%.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Khushi Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Marguerita Choy)
