RTGAM
Higher gold and oil prices boosted Canada's benchmark equity index Monday while U.S. stocks got a lift from International Business Machines Corp.'s earnings.
The S&P/TSX composite index added 65.71 points to 13,698.28. Energy, mining and gold stocks were the among the biggest gainers on Monday, while financials lost ground.
Crude oil for February delivery jumped $1.51 (U.S.) to close at $94.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Bullion futures climbed $5.70 to $903.40 an ounce after touching a record high $915.90 an ounce earlier in the session.
Among individual stocks, Yamana Gold Inc. and Barrick Gold Corp. logged strong performances, as did Potash Corp. and Research in Motion Ltd.
On Wall Street, indexes recovered from last week's losses. After falling nearly 250 points on Friday, the Dow Jones rose more than 170 points Monday to close at 12,778.15.
In the broader U.S. market, the Nasdaq added 38.36 points while the S&P 500 rose 15.23 points.
IBM provided the lift south of the border, rising the most in five years after releasing fourth-quarter preliminary earnings that were 24 per cent higher than a year ago. They also topped analyst targets.
The results triggered some hope that earnings season, which has just kicked off, will not be as bad as some fear. Citigroup Inc. is slated to release its financial results on Tuesday, followed by Merrill Lynch & Co. on Thursday.
National Bank Financial economist Stefane Marion said analysts are calling for a consensus 8.5 per cent contraction in fourth-quarter S&P 500 earnings, a sharp change from the 10.2 per cent increase that was forecast at the start of the quarter on Oct. 4th.
"Looking ahead, however, the consensus remains very optimistic on the prospects for a sharp rebound in earnings growth...during calendar 2008," Mr. Marion wrote in a note Monday. "Needless to say, current profit expectations are still far from integrating a sharp economic slowdown."
Copyright 2001 The Globe and Mail
