Jan. 25, 2010 (Baystreet.ca) --
The Canadian market opened higher on Monday, supported by a marginal rise in the price of commodities and bargain hunting after the main index surrendered nearly 4% in the past three sessions.
By 11 a.m. ET, the S&P/TSX Composite Index had tacked on 43.47 points, to 11,386.90.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index surrendered 125.67 points or 1.10% to settle Friday at 11,343.43.
The price of oil was lingering below the $75-U.S. mark.
However, the price of bullion ticked higher, recouping from its previous sessions' fall and added $7.00 to $1,096, an ounce. Meanwhile, global mining giant Rio Tinto said it expects global demand for aluminum will increase by 2% to 3% in 2010.
In corporate news, Motorola Inc. said that it had filed a complaint against Research in Motion with the U.S. International Trade Commission for infringement of patents.
Bank of Montreal's long-term ratings were cut one grade at Moody's Investors Service, citing greater earnings volatility at the bank's wholesale investment bank.
Westaim Corp agreed to buy Jevco Insurance for $263 million from Kingsway Financial Services
Minerals and natural gas explorer Caspian Energy announced the appointment of Michael Nobbs to its board of directors.
Mineral Hill Industries said on Friday that it will sell by private placement of up to four million units at $0.05 per unit for total proceeds of up to $200,000.
Dragon Pharmaceutical said on Friday that Yanlin Han, Chairman and CEO of the company, has made a non-binding proposal to purchase all of the outstanding shares of Dragon Pharma for a price of $0.80 per share.
Gold explorer Barkerville said it raised $13.05 million via private equity issue.
Serica Energy said it sold certain of its interests in South East Asia to KrisEnergy Ltd, for $105.4 million.
Mobile business solutions provider Versatile Systems announced that its second-quarter net loss reduced significantly to $80,661 from $533,171 for the same period last year and reported a breakeven per share for the quarter.
In brokerage update, Toronto Dominion Bank ups Goldcorp. Inc. rating to "buy" from "hold"
With no major economic data on tap today, traders will look the movements in commodities prices to get clues.
The Canadian dollar skidded 0.20 cents to 94.33 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
Of the 14 TSX subgroups, eight were higher by mid-morning Monday. Global base metals and information technology gained 1.6% each, while metals and mining progressed 0.7%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed by consumer staples, falling 0.5%, while utilities and telecoms trailed Friday's close by 0.3% each.
The TSX Venture Exchange picked up 1.77 points to 1,551.44, while the Nasdaq Canada index inched up 2.87 points to 687.61.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks were off to a strong start in the first few minutes after the opening bell Monday, as investors looked to recover from last week's big pullback.
The Dow Jones Industrials climbed out of its gulch points, having gained 43.23 points by mid-morning to 10,216.21. The S&P 500 was ahead 6.57 points to 1.098.33, and the Nasdaq regained 9.86 points to 2,215.15.
Stocks on Wall Street plunged last week, turning in their worst week in nearly a year, after President Obama proposed new limits on banks. The Dow, which sank 4%, had its worst week since March 6, 2009.
Fourth-quarter earnings will be in focus this week, with tech giant Apple due to report results after U.S. markets close Monday.
Other companies on tap to report quarterly results include Johnson & Johnson, Yahoo and Microsoft.
U.S. central bankers meet Tuesday and Wednesday and are widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at near zero.
Many economists doubt the Federal Reserve will offer new details about when it plans to start raising rates or withdrawing its stimulus programs, but investors nonetheless will scrutinize its policy statement for any clues.
Treasury prices slid, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 3.61% from Friday's 3.59%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil climbed 19 cents to $74.73 U.S.
Gold prices regained five dollars to $1,095 U.S.
