TORONTO — North American equity markets ended the day sharply higher Monday, with traders apparently undeterred by last week’s terrorist violence in France and disappointing manufacturing reports on both sides of the border.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index, after having sustained heavy losses last week, soared 242.1 points to 13,318 points, helped largely by a rebound in the price of oil.
The TSX capped energy sector was up 2.75 per cent as the December contract for benchmark crude oil rose $1.21 to US$41.95 a barrel, while December natural gas added two cents to US$2.38 per mmBtu.
Elsewhere on commodity markets, December gold gained $1.90 to US$1,082.80 an ounce, while December copper shed five cents to US$2.12 a pound.
The Canadian dollar was off 0.05 of a U.S. cent at 75.04 cents U.S.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 236.8 points to 17,482, while the broader S&P 500 index added 30 points to 2,053 and the Nasdaq advanced 57 points to 4,985.
Long-term impact
For the most part, investors appeared to be betting that Friday’s attacks in Paris, which killed 129 people, won’t have a meaningful long-term impact on the global economy.
“It all comes down to, ‘Are consumers going to be staying at home and not out spending money because they’re afraid that if they go anywhere they’re going to be victims of a terrorist attack?”‘ Scott Wren, senior global equity strategist for Wells Fargo Investment Institute, told The Associated Press.
“That might be the case if you saw a series of these things, but hopefully that’s not what’s going to happen and the economy is not going to be affected. The … upside we’re seeing in the S&P 500 is reflective of that.”
In economic news, Statistics Canada reported Monday that manufacturing sales tumbled 1.5 per cent in September following a 0.6 per cent drop in August, much worse than consensus expectations for a 0.1 per cent gain.
And the New York Federal Reserve’s Empire State manufacturing index showed factory output contracted for a fourth consecutive month in November as manufacturers continued to battle a strong U.S. dollar and slow overseas growth. The index was at a minus 10.7 for the month, a slight improvement from minus 11.4 in October.
In corporate news, Marriott International is buying rival hotel chain Starwood for US$12.2 billion in cash and stock. If completed, the deal would make Marriott the world’s largest hotelier by a wide margin.
WATCH: Financial expert Preet Banerjee looks at what effect a similar attack in Paris happened in North America.
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