Canadian Stocks See Further Upside On Trade Deal Optimism

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks have moved moderately higher during trading on Monday, extending the upward move seen in the previous session.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index remained firmly positive after an early advance, climbing 75.74 points or 0.5 percent to 16,669.81.

The continued strength on Bay Street came as traders remain hopeful about a U.S.-China trade agreement, with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross expressing optimism phase one of a trade deal could be signed this month.

"We're in good shape, we're making good progress, and there's no natural reason why it couldn't be," Ross said in an interview with Bloomberg on Sunday.

Ross called the phase one agreement "particularly complicated" and acknowledged it is "always possible" the signing of the deal could "slip a little bit."

In the interview, Ross also said licenses for U.S. firms to sell components to China's Huawei Technologies would be coming "very shortly."

The comments from Ross come after a report from China's Xinhua News Agency last Friday said U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators have "reached consensus on principles."

President Donald Trump has also continued to express optimism about a trade deal, recently suggesting phase one of an agreement could be signed somewhere in the U.S. as soon as this month.

Energy stocks helped to lead the way higher, resulting in a 3.2 percent spike by the S&P/TSX Capped Energy Index.

The rally by energy stocks comes amid a continued increase by the price of crude oil, as crude for December delivery rose $0.34 to $56.54 a barrel after spiking by more than $2 a barrel last Friday.

Consumer discretionary and financial stocks also saw strength on the day, while weakness was visible among consumer staple and real estate stocks.