TORONTO — The Toronto Stock Exchange rose at Monday’s opening as commodity prices were up, expectations continued of more economic support from the U.S. Federal Reserve and a meeting of big-economy finance ministers over the weekend featured promises to avoid a currency war.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 66.73 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 12,667.91 minutes after opening.
On the commodities market, crude oil was up $1.40 to $83.09 US a barrel in New York, while gold gained $18.90 to $1,344 US an ounce.
The Canadian dollar was up 88 basis points to 98.26 cents US.
There was market speculation the Fed will announce a major bond purchase next week. That followed promises from G20 finance minister in South Korea over the weekend not to devalue their currencies for competitive reasons.
On U.S. stock markets, the Dow Jones industrial average was ahead 47.46 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 11,180.02 shortly after trading started. The Nasdaq composite index gained 12.54 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 2,491.93.
In Europe, the U.K.’s FTSE was up 25.44 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 5,766.81. France’s CAC gained 6.05 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 3,874.59, while the German DAX rose 34.64 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 6,640.48.
On Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei index fell 25.55 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 9,401.16. The Hang Seng measure in Hong Kong gained 110.37 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 23,627.91. Mainland China’s Shanghai composite surged 76.38 points, or 2.57 per cent, to 3,051.42 after some earning reports from companies such as Gree Electric Appliances Inc. and liquor maker Luzhou Laojiao Co.
On Friday, the S&P/TSX rose 1.95 points and 0.02 per cent, to close at 12,601.18. On U.S. markets, the Dow Jones fell 14.01 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 11,132.56. The Nasdaq rose 19.72 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 2,479.39.
