Askume Sept 9 – Canada’s main stock index closed higher for the first time in five trading days on Monday, led by gains in the financial and industrial sectors, as investors took advantage of a drop in stock prices.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite Index (.GSPTSE) closed up 245.72 points, or 1.1%, at 23,027.15, its lowest close in three weeks on Friday.
“Part of the reason is people are buying despite the recession, which can sometimes be a dangerous game,” said Michael Sprung, president of Sprung Investment Management.
Wall Street’s main indexes also rose after a week of declines as investors looked for deals while awaiting inflation reports in the coming days and the Federal Reserve’s next policy decision next week.
“People are more concerned about the state of the economy than the level of interest rates,” Sprone said. “I think we’re going to be in a very volatile market for some time to come.”
Financial stocks, which account for about 31% of the Toronto Stock Exchange’s market value, rose 1.5%, industrial stocks rose 1.4% and technology stocks gained 1.5%.
The materials group rose 1.1% as gold and copper prices rose. Oil prices also rose 1.5% to $68.71 a barrel on concerns that a storm expected to hit Louisiana on Wednesday could disrupt production .
Energy, however, was the only major sector to decline, down 0.2%.
Masatex Corp (MX.TO) agreed to acquire the methanol business of Dutch green fuel maker OCI Global (OCI.AS) for $2.05 billion . Shares of the methanol producer fell 7.9%.
Air Canada (AC.TO) shares also fell 1.2% after the airline said it was finalizing plans to suspend most operations as talks with pilot unions neared an impasse.
