By Maiya Keidan
TORONTO, May 15 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index
rose 0.59% on Monday, helped by gains in energy and materials as
wildfires hit tightening oil supplies and Newmont Corp's A$26.2 billion ($17.8 billion) buyout of Newcrest Mining Ltd edged closer to the finish line.
At the close on Monday, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX
composite index was up 120.35 points at 20,539.97.
The energy sector rose 1.4% as oil prices hit a
dollar a barrel on Monday as the prospect of tightening supplies
and Canada and elsewhere rose. Wildfires raged in the province
of Alberta, shutting in large amounts of crude supply.
Materials stocks , which include precious metals,
rose 1.1%, helped by Australian gold miner Newcrest Mining
announcing on Monday it would back Newmont Corp's takeover offer
in one of the world's largest buyouts so far this year.
The deal would lift Newmont's gold output to nearly double
its nearest rival, Barrick Gold Corp , and make the
miner the largest U.S. gold and copper producer by market
capitalisation.
Real estate stocks rose 0.8% on Monday after data from
the Canadian Real Estate Association showed homes sales in the
country rose 11.3% in April.
"The fundamental story there kind of remains the same in
terms of what people have talked about for supply/demand," said
Ben Jang, a portfolio manager at Nicola Wealth.
"We saw a million new people come to Canada last year, the
government is focussed on half a million new (permanent
resident) immigrants for the next few years"
The Toronto market's heavily-weighted financials sector also rose 0.8% on Monday while technology stocks gained 1.1%.
Canadian equities had closed the previous week lower,
logging their longest streak of weekly declines since late
February amid concerns about the global economy.
(Reporting by Maiya Keidan; Editing by David Gregorio)
Messaging: maiya.keidan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.