Canadian equities finished the trading session higher on Monday, with gains concentrated in the Healthcare, IT and Energy sectors.
Broad market outcome - The S&P/TSX Composite closed up 0.04%, marking a new one-month high for the index. Market breadth, however, was negative: falling stocks outnumbered advancers on the Toronto Stock Exchange by 557 to 410, and 73 issues finished unchanged.
Top performers - Superior Plus Corp (TSX:SPB) led the winners, jumping 13.69% - a gain of 0.86 points - to finish at 7.14. BlackBerry Ltd (TSX:BB) also posted a large rise, adding 13.12% or 0.87 points to close at 7.50. Curaleaf Holdings Inc (TSX:CURA) climbed 11.23%, up 0.42 points to 4.16 at the close.
Shares of BlackBerry reached 52-week highs during the session, finishing up 13.12% or 0.87 at 7.50.
Lagging names - On the downside, Montage Gold Corp (TSX:MAU) lost 4.99% or 0.85 points to trade at 16.18 at the close. Discovery Silver Corp (TSX:DSV) slipped 4.40%, down 0.48 points to 10.44, while IAMGold Corporation (TSX:IMG) fell 4.32%, a decline of 1.14 points to 25.23.
Volatility and sentiment - The S&P/TSX 60 VIX, which measures implied volatility for S&P/TSX Composite options, rose 4.05% to 16.96, indicating higher option-implied volatility entering the close.
Commodities and currencies - In commodities trading, Gold Futures for June delivery was down 0.88% or 43.11 to $4,836.49 a troy ounce. Crude oil for delivery in June climbed 5.24% or 4.33 to reach $86.92 a barrel, and the June Brent oil contract rose 5.12% or 4.63 to trade at $95.01 a barrel.
On the currency front, CAD/USD was unchanged, moving 0.32% to 0.73, while CAD/EUR was unchanged 0.13% to 0.62. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.03% at 97.87.
Contextual note - Market movement on the day reflected strong gains in a handful of names across sectors while the broader exchange saw more decliners than advancers. Commodity markets diverged, with oil posting sizable gains and gold retreating, and implied volatility as measured by the S&P/TSX 60 VIX increased into the close.