TORONTO — Strength in base metal, financial and technology stocks helped lead a broad-based rally Monday, with Canada's main stock index rising more than 150 points while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
Markets began the week on an optimistic note, said Danick Dutrisac, vice-president and portfolio manager at Fiduciary Trust Canada.
“It’s been pretty much a risk-on day ... there’s really not a lot of negative in the markets on both sides of the border,” he said.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 157.94 points at 19,620.80.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 314.25 points at 33,984.54. The S&P 500 index was up 45.85 points at 4,373.63,while the Nasdaq composite was up 160.75 points at 13,567.98.
The start to earnings season, which kicked off with major U.S. banks on Friday, has gone “relatively well,” said Dutrisac, likely contributing to the optimism.
Even rate-sensitive sectors were up Monday, he said, but added that doesn’t denote a longer-term trend.
While earnings season is likely to be positive overall, investors will be focused on companies’ outlooks, said Dutrisac.
Canadian business sentiment weakened in the third quarter, according to the Bank of Canada’s latest business outlook survey, while the survey of consumers found inflation expectations remained elevated.
Consumer spending behaviour hasn’t cooled as much as expected amid the central bank’s tightening cycle, but that could change as excess savings come to an end, said Dutrisac.
“I think from a consumer perspective, you know, the next quarter or two will be pretty interesting to watch,” he said.
Tuesday will see the latest inflation data from Statistics Canada, one of the last major economic data points ahead of the Bank of Canada’s upcoming rate decision.
Both the Bank of Canada and the U.S. Federal Reserve are expected to hold their rates steady at their upcoming meetings, said Dutrisac. He expects the Bank of Canada will reiterate its data dependency next week after announcing a continued hold on rates, barring any surprising economic data.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.43 cents US compared with 73.20 cents US on Friday.
The November crude contract was down US$1.03 at US$86.66 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down 13 cents at US$3.11 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$7.20 at US$1,934.30 an ounceand the December copper contract was up a penny at US$3.58 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2023.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
Rosa Saba, The Canadian Press
