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Dec. 21, 2009 (Baystreet.ca) --
Bay Street stocks remained in positive territory on Monday as traders await some key economic data later in the week. Real-estate and health-care stocks were among the big winners.
The S&P/TSX Composite index gained 91.32 points to end the day at 11,554.72
The TSX has recouped most of the losses made on the market earlier this year, but is still well off the 11,878 high for 2009, achieved in early November.
Mining stocks are up as copper gained on the Comex. First Quantum added 0.8% to $78.70 and Teck Resources was up 1.9% to $39.53.
Health-care stocks were up as SXC Health Solutions Corp. gained 4.4% to $57.44 while MDS was up 0.6% to $7.94.
Financials stocks were up with Royal Bank of Canada up 93 cents, or 1.7%, to $55.74.
In corporate news, Canadian fertilizer giant Agrium Inc. is sticking to its $5-billion U.S. takeover offer for CF Industries Holdings, Inc., but gave CF's shareholders another month to tender their stock. CF's board of directors has consistently rejected the proposed deal. Agrium shares were up $1.03 or 1.7% to $63.16.
SNC-Lavalin Inc. has agreed to provide engineering, procurement and construction management services for a $630-million U.S. iron ore concentrator project in Mauritania, with construction scheduled to begin in 2010. Shares rose $1.16 or 2.3%, to $51.58.
TLC Vision Corporation, North America's largest eye care services company, says it has struck a deal with a majority of the company's senior secured debt holders to restructure its balance sheet, after the company and two subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
Both Canadian and U.S. markets are expected to trade lightly during the shorter Christmas holiday week. Markets close early on Thursday and remain closed on Friday.
On the economic front, Canadian retail sales rose 0.8% in October, according to data released on Monday morning. The rise, which was in-line with expectations, was the eighth in 10 months.
Revised data showed a 1.1% increase in September.
Excluding autos, retail sales rose 0.2%, less than the 0.4% projected by experts and the 1% hike in the prior month.
Later in the week, traders will look for gross domestic product data from both sides of the border.
The Canadian dollar was flat at 94.14 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
All but two of the 14 TSX subgroups were in positive territory, with health-care stocks up 1.6%, real-estate next at 1.5%, and information technology ahead 1.4%.
Gold was down 1.4% while utilities fell 0.4%.
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 2.48 points to 1,427.72, while the Nasdaq Canada index moved forward 0.89 points to 740.41.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks jumped in a quiet trading session Monday as a combination of analyst upgrades and corporate deal-making fueled a broad-based rally.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 85.25 points to 10,414.14, while the broader S&P 500 surged 11.58 points to 1,114.05, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 25.97 points to 2,237.66.
Aluminum producer Alcoa surged more than 9% after analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock and the company announced a $10.8-billion U.S. joint venture with Saudi Arabia to develop a major mining operation.
Shares of big health-care companies rose sharply after the Senate voted to end debate on revisions to a major health-care-reform bill, a key step toward finalization of the controversial legislation.
Cigna, Aetna and UnitedHealth Group all posted strong gains.
The health-care sector also was supported by news that Sanofi-Aventis will buy retail health products maker Chattem for $1.9 billion U.S.
Technology stocks advanced after analysts at Barclays Capital upgraded Intel to "overweight." Shares of the semiconductor maker rose more than 3%.
The rally comes at the beginning of a holiday-shortened week on Wall Street. The stock market closes early on Thursday and will remain dark on Friday for the Christmas holiday.
Many market participants will take the entire week off, which means the number of shares trading hands will be low, and relatively small moves could cause major volatility
French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis announced plans to acquire Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Chattem which makes over-the-counter healthcare products like Icy Hot, for $1.9 billion U.S.
The deal, which would create the world's fifth-largest consumer health-care company, is part of an ongoing plan to expand Sanofi's presence in the U.S. market, the company said in a statement.
Elsewhere, mining equipment maker Bucyrus International said Sunday it would buy rival Terex Corp. for $1.3 billion U.S. in cash.
Citadel Broadcasting Co., the nation's third-largest radio group, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sunday. The company, which has stations in 25 states, listed liabilities of $2.5 billion U.S. on assets of $1.4 billion U.S., according to court papers filed in the Southern District of New York.
More than 60% of Citadel's secured lenders backed the pre-negotiated bankruptcy, which will allow Citadel to clear $1.4 billion U.S. of debt and convert $2.1 billion U.S. of its secured credit facility into a new term loan. The three largest unsecured creditors were JPMorgan Chase, Wilmington Trust Corp., and the Walt Disney Co. according to Sunday's filing.
Spyker, a Dutch automaker, said Sunday it had made a new offer to General Motors for the Swedish car brand Saab. GM had announced on Friday that it would let the car brand die after failing to reach a deal with potential buyers, including Spyker and Swedish carmaker Koenigsegg.
Spyker's offer was set to expire on Monday at 5 p.m. ET.
No U.S. economic reports were scheduled for release Monday.
Treasury prices dipped sharply, boosting yields on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.68% from Friday's 3.53%. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil eased back 63 cents to $72.73 U.S.
Gold prices subsided $16 to $1,096 an ounce U.S.