Strong start to busy week

Photo: The Canadian Press

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index rose Monday as technology stocks helped lead broad-based gains despite weakness in energy, while U.S. markets also rose.

Markets picked up steam in the afternoon as Treasury yields fell.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 74.78 points at 21,200.06.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 224.02 points at 38,333.45. The S&P 500 index was up 36.96 points at 4,927.93, while the Nasdaq composite was up 172.68 points at 15,628.04.

Investors were in wait-and-see mode Monday ahead of what promises to be a jam-packed week, said Michael Greenberg, senior vice-president and portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions.

Several of the biggest technology names on the market are scheduled to report earnings this week in the U.S., while the U.S. Federal Reserve will announce its first rate decision of the year on Wednesday.

The central bank is expected to hold its overnight rate steady, but investors will be listening for any comments on potential cuts, Greenberg said.

“It’s not what they do. It’s really what they say,” he said.

Meanwhile, the big tech companies reporting earnings this week have a lot riding on them, Greenberg said.

“They’ve been a really big driver of markets so obviously, strong numbers from them would probably suggest that we can continue to party on,” he said.

But investors need to see broader strength in the markets, too, and will be monitoring how the rest of the S&P 500 companies do as well, he said.

“Expectations have come down a little bit from an earnings perspective,” Greenberg said. “So there’s … some prospects that they surprise a little bit.”

The Canadian dollar traded for 74.39 cents US compared with 74.35 cents US on Friday.