Canada's equity market closed in positive territory on Monday, driven by advances in the information technology, materials and industrials sectors. At the Toronto close the S&P/TSX Composite had risen 0.32%.
Leading the winners on the S&P/TSX Composite were Celestica Inc. (TSX:CLS), Methanex Corporation (TSX:MX) and Kinaxis Inc (TSX:KXS). Celestica finished the session up 7.07% - an increase of 24.00 points - to close at 363.51. Methanex added 6.53%, a gain of 4.41 points, ending at 71.94. Kinaxis also posted a strong result, climbing 6.22% or 8.41 points to finish at 143.64.
On the downside, Curaleaf Holdings Inc (TSX:CURA) was the weakest performer, slipping 4.97% or 0.16 points to close at 3.06. Badger Infrastructure Solutions Ltd (TSX:BDGI) declined 3.55%, down 2.37 points to 64.31, while Cargojet Inc (TSX:CJT) fell 2.84% or 2.58 points to 88.22.
Market breadth in Toronto showed more decliners than advancers, with 583 stocks down versus 388 advancing; 63 issues finished unchanged.
Implied volatility on large-cap TSX options eased, with the S&P/TSX 60 VIX falling 0.40% to 20.10.
Commodities settled mixed to lower on the day. Gold futures for April delivery moved down 0.22%, a decline of 11.31, to $5,147.39 a troy ounce. Oil prices fell notably: April crude oil lost 6.04% or 5.49 to settle at $85.41 a barrel, while the May Brent contract retreated 3.78% or 3.50 to trade at $89.19 a barrel.
In currency markets, the Canadian dollar versus the US dollar was reported unchanged 0.11% at 0.74, while CAD/EUR was unchanged 0.11% at 0.63. The US Dollar Index Futures ticked lower by 0.14% to 98.84.
Contextual takeaway - the session shows select strength among technology, materials and industrial companies that translated into modest index gains, even as overall decliners outnumbered advancers. Volatility eased slightly and major commodity prices, particularly crude oil, moved lower, which likely influenced energy and resource-related names on the TSX.
Further market direction will depend on how sector-level momentum holds and whether commodity price moves translate into broader shifts in Canadian resource and energy stocks.