With rising crude oil and metal prices and relatively stable European stocks, the Canadian market appears poised for a positive start on Monday morning.
Scotiabank (BNS.TO) has announced a deal to acquire an approximately 14.9% pro-forma ownership stake in KeyCorp, a financial services firm, through an issuance of shares priced at $17.17 each. The total cash consideration is valued at around $2.8 billion.
Tourmaline Oil Corp. (TOU.TO) revealed its agreement to acquire all outstanding common shares of Crew Energy Inc. This transaction will be executed through the issuance of 18.778 million Tourmaline common shares and the assumption of net debt of approximately $240 million, totaling roughly $1.3 billion in consideration.
Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX.TO) announced a dividend of $0.10 per share for the second quarter of 2024. Alongside the dividend, Barrick repurchased 2.95 million shares during the second quarter as part of the $1 billion share buyback program initiated in February 2024.
On the economic landscape, Statistics Canada reported that building permits in Canada decreased to -13.9% in June, down from -12.7% in May.
The Canadian market concluded with modest gains on Friday, buoyed by the performance of the materials, technology, and financial sectors. Positive earnings updates and optimism regarding potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve helped support the market sentiment.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index increased by 85.69 points, or 0.39%, closing at 22,311.30. The index experienced a session low of 22,131.01 and a high of 22,324.86, achieving a weekly gain of about 0.4%.
In Asia, markets closed generally higher on Monday as investor sentiment improved with the reassessment of U.S. economic growth concerns. However, gains were tempered due to apprehension ahead of the U.S. CPI data release scheduled for Wednesday. The Japanese market was closed due to a holiday.
European markets are seeing slight gains in cautious trading as investors await critical inflation data from the U.K. and the U.S.
In the commodities markets, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures have risen by $0.81 or 1.05%, to $77.65 per barrel.
Gold futures have increased by $9.50, or approximately 0.4%, currently priced at $2,482.90 an ounce. Meanwhile, Silver futures have gained $0.417, or 1.52%, reaching $28.005 an ounce.
