Canadian Stocks Regain Ground Despite Middle East Concerns

(RTTNews) - With the G7 meeting in focus, Canadian stocks rebounded on Monday despite the Israel-Iran conflict that erupted last week.

Today, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index opened 30 points higher than the previous session.

The index then rallied to hit the day's high of 26,681.74 within an hour or so, but unable to carry the momentum, fell gradually to settle at 26,568.61, still up up by 64.26 or 0.2%.

On the economic front, Canada's Mortgage and Housing Corporation data revealed that housing starts in Canada were above the market expectations of 248,000 units at 279,510 units in May, though 0.2% down compared to April.

All eyes are on the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, where leaders have convened to ensure stability in stock and commodity markets as well as in advancing trade deals.

Investors are monitoring the chances of the US and Canada coming together in this meeting for a prospective trade agreement.

With regard to Middle East crisis, the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran is reaching out to US and Israel through intermediaries indicating its preparedness to end the hostility and re-start nuclear talks.

Following this news, investors are positive that the conflict may be contained sooner than expected. However, exchange of airstrikes between Iran and Israel has not yet ceased.

On the external front, the upcoming announcement on Wednesday by the Federal Reserve on monetary policy is awaited by investors. Though the Fed is expected to keep interest rates unchanged, clues for future cuts are anticipated.

The major sectors that gained in today's trading were Industrials (0.48%), Consumer Discretionary (0.63%), Financials (0.66%), and Information Technology (1.25%).

Among the individual stocks, Blackberry (6.29%), Lightspeed Commerce (3.98%), Shopify (2.72%), Aritizia (3.44%), and Fairfax (1.93%) were the prominent gainers.

The major sectors that lost in today's trading were Utilities (0.14%), Materials (0.28%), Consumer Staples (0.52%), and Energy (0.85%).

Among the individual stocks, G Mining Ventures (6.21%), Torex Gold (4.66%), Baytex (3.53%), Jamieson Wellness (1.12%), and Parex Resources (4.35%) fell today.