© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Art Deco facade of the original Toronto Stock Exchange building is seen on Bay Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada January 23, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Helgren
By Johann M Cherian and Fergal Smith
(Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index rose on Monday, helped by gains for resource and financial shares, as some calm returned to financial markets after recent turmoil in the banking sector.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended up 131.71 points, or 0.7%, at 19,519.43, preliminary data showed.
U.S. stocks were also higher on hopes that UBS Group AG (SIX:)’s takeover of Credit Suisse Group AG would avert a wider banking crisis and as investors weighed the likelihood of a pause in interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve this week.
“The TSX is heavily weighted in banks and today it looks like there’s some stabilization in the banking sector, at least initially, based on UBS buying Credit Suisse,” said Allan Small, senior investment advisor at Allan Small Financial Group.
The financial sector, which accounts for nearly 30% of the TSX, added 0.5%.
Energy was up 2.9% as oil rebounded from a 15-month low. oil futures settled 1.4% higher at $67.64 a barrel.
The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, gained 0.8%.