Equity markets in Toronto opened higher on Tuesday, led by a sizable jump among materials, home to miners and other resource companies.
The S&P/TSX composite index leaped 118.21 points to open at 13,670.41
The Canadian dollar gained 0.09 cents at 76.50 cents U.S.
Superior Plus Corp said it would buy chemicals and handling company Canexus Corp for $324.1 million. Canexus shareholders will get 0.153 of a Superior share. This works out to $1.74 for each share, a premium of 47.5% to Canexus closing price on Monday.
Superior shares ducked lower by 45 cents, or 4%, to $10.93, while Canexus shares thundered higher 31 cents, or 26.3%, to $1.49.
First Quantum Minerals Ltd said it has revised its deal with Franco-Nevada Corp for its flagship copper-gold Cobre Panama project in Central America after reviewing the costs. Under the new precious metal stream agreement with the Vancouver-based miner, royalty firm Franco-Nevada will have to pay an initial contribution of $330 million to $340 million to First Quantum in October.
First Quantum shares rocketed 92 cents, or 14.9%, to $7.11, while Franco-Nevada shares took on 21 cents to $62.96.
Work has resumed at Goldcorp’s Cerro Negro mine in Argentina, the company said on Monday, following the declaration of a mandatory 15-day conciliation period by the Santa Cruz Provincial Secretariat of Labour. Workers at Cerro Negro, represented by the Asociacion Obrera Minera Argentina union, had halted work at the mine site last Friday.
Goldcorp shares moved higher 55 cents, or 3.2%, to $17.94.
National Bank Financial raised the target price on AGT Food and Ingredients Inc to $37.00 from $35.00, saying the company is continuing its long-term strategy of controlling more and more of the pulses value chain from farm gate to plate.
AGT shares triumphed $2.10, or 7.8%, to $29.00
Also, National Bank Financial cut the target price on Air Canada to $15.00 from $17.00 due to modest changes to cash flow and balance sheet assumptions.
Shares in the Maple Leaf airline got eight cents worth of lift to $11.03.
Moreover, National Bank Financial cut the target price on Rubicon Minerals Corp to $0.90 from $1.30, believing balance sheet pressures are mounting as the company navigates additional ramp-up issues.
Rubicon shares added a penny, or 1.5%, to 68 cents.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that this country's exports declined 3.6% in August while imports edged up 0.2%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world widened from $817 million in July to $2.5 billion in August.
Moreover, Western University in London, Ontario came out this morning with its Ivey Purchasing Managers Index. The figure for the end of September stood at 53.7, compared to 58.0 in August, and 58.6, for September 2014.
The survey asks purchasing managers whether their buys increased, decreased, or stayed the same during the month. Any figure over 50 signals shows an increase, while below 50 shows a decrease.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 3.19 points to 533.10
All but one of the 13 TSX subgroups were higher to start out, as metals and mining stocks leaped 5%, gold shone 2.9% brighter, and materials took on 2.6%.
The lone laggard was in utilities, slouching 0.9%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded mostly higher Tuesday, attempting to extend a sharp two-day rally, as investors awaited the official beginning of third-quarter earnings season.
The Dow Jones industrial average moved up 21.68 points to 16,798.11, with DuPont rising more than 10% to contribute the most to gains.
After the close Monday, the chemical company's chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ellen Kullman announced plans to retire October 16. Director Edward Breen will serve as interim chairman and CEO. DuPont also cut its outlook for the year and announced an acceleration of its plans to trim expenses.
The S&P 500 hiked 1.57 points to 1,988.62. Materials gained more than 1% to lead advancers on the S&P 500, which attempted slight gains.
The NASDAQ index faded 9.04 points to 4,772.22, helped by gains in Amazon and Alphabet, Google's holding company. Apple traded half a percentage point lower
Before the opening bell, PepsiCo reported earnings that beat on both the top and bottom line. The firm also raised its full-year growth target. Shares of Pepsi gained more than 1.5% in morning trade.
Yum Brands is scheduled to report after the close. The unofficial start to earnings season comes Thursday with Alcoa's earnings after the bell. The bulk of third-quarter earnings reports come in the next few weeks.
On the data front, the August trade deficit came in at $48.3 billion U.S., the widest in five months.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained slightly, lowering yields to 2.05%, compared to Monday’s 2.06%. Treasury price and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices improved $1.02 a barrel to $47.28 U.S.
Gold prices gained $12.02 to $1,147.77 U.S. an ounce.
