Canada's equity market finished the trading day in positive territory on Monday, with the S&P/TSX Composite rising 1.70% at the close in Toronto. Gains were concentrated in the Materials, IT and Financials sectors, which collectively helped lift the benchmark.
Top performers
- IAMGold Corporation (TSX:IMG) led the list of winners, advancing 10.52% - a rise of 2.75 points - to close at 28.89.
- Orla Mining Ltd (TSX:OLA) followed closely, adding 10.45% or 2.23 points to finish the session at 23.56.
- Alamos Gold Inc (TSX:AGI) climbed 8.40%, gaining 4.61 points to end at 59.49.
Largest decliners
- Vizsla Silver Corp (TSX:VZLA) was the weakest name among the major movers, falling 12.44% or 0.78 points to close at 5.49.
- Air Canada (TSX:AC) declined 4.49%, down 0.95 points to end the day at 20.21.
- Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSX:GWO) eased 2.80% or 1.72 points to finish at 59.81.
Market breadth favored advancers: rising stocks outnumbered decliners on the Toronto Stock Exchange by 639 to 329, while 77 issues finished unchanged.
The S&P/TSX 60 VIX, which reflects implied volatility of options on the S&P/TSX Composite, moved lower by 6.09% to 15.42, indicating a pullback in near-term expected volatility.
Commodities and currencies
Precious and energy markets were also active. Gold Futures for April delivery increased 1.99% - up 99.24 - to $5,079.04 a troy ounce. In crude markets, the March delivery contract rose 1.37% or 0.87 to $64.42 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract gained 1.53% or 1.04 to trade at $69.09 a barrel.
On the currency front, the Canadian dollar strengthened versus the U.S. dollar, with CAD/USD up 0.92% to 0.74. CAD/EUR was recorded as unchanged 0.11% to 0.62. The US Dollar Index Futures fell 0.78% to 96.75.
These moves produced a broadly positive session for the Canadian market, led by strong performance in mining-related names and supported by easing implied volatility across the S&P/TSX 60 options complex.