Canada’s main stock index regained some of the ground it lost at the end of last week, while U.S. markets also rose as investors sifted through the latest economic data.
Ian Chong, portfolio manager for First Avenue Investment Counsel Inc., said the S&P Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index was “constructive for both economies.”
Canada’s PMI data showed the manufacturing sector stabilized in January following an 11-month downturn. Meanwhile, U.S. PMI data showed an upturn in production despite subdued sales growth last month.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 260.36 points at 32,183.88.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 515.19 points at 49,407.66. The S&P 500 index was up 37.41 points at 6,976.44, while the Nasdaq composite was up 130.29 points at 23,592.11.
Monday’s gains came after the TSX shed more than 1,000 points on Friday amid a drop in precious metal prices.
The mining-heavy TSX fell on Friday in reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump announcing he’d chosen Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell as U.S. Federal Reserve chair.
The Fed chair has a big influence on the economy and markets worldwide by helping dictate where the U.S. central bank moves interest rates. That affects prices for all kinds of investments, as the Fed tries to keep the U.S. job market humming without letting inflation get out of control.
The centre of the action in financial markets was again precious metals on Monday, where momentum has suddenly halted after gold’s price had roughly doubled in just 12 months.
The April gold contract was down US$92.50 at US$4,652.60 an ounce.
Gold and silver prices had been surging as investors looked for safer things to own amid a wide range of worries, including a Federal Reserve that may be set to become less independent, a U.S. stock market that critics say is expensive, threats of tariffs and heavy debt loads for governments worldwide.
Going forward, Chong said he views the environment for gold as constructive, which will support the TSX.
“The fundamentals are still strong for gold, we’re just hitting a bit of a reset. When things move in that exponential manner so quickly, it’s inevitable that they will correct back,” he said.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.12 cents US compared with 73.74 cents US on Friday.
The March crude oil contract was down US$3.07 at US$62.14 per barrel.
— With files from The Associated Press