A drop of diesel is seen at the tip of a nozzle after a fuel station customer fills her car's tank in Sint Pieters Leeuw December 5, 2014.YVES HERMAN/Reuters
The Toronto stock market remained in positive territory Monday afternoon as energy and gold stocks took off on rising prices for oil and bullion.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 25.82 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 15,109.74, but traders were cautious amid worry centred around whether Greece will exit the euro zone and subpar economic data from China.
The Canadian dollar rose 0.46 of a cent to 80.31 cents (U.S.).
New York indexes were mixed, with the Dow Jones industrials down 51.95 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 17,772.34, the Nasdaq unchanged at 4,744.58 and the S&P 500 index down 2.61 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 2,052.86.
The TSX energy sector was up another two per cent, building on last week's 12 per cent runup, as March crude gained $1.32 Monday to $53.01 (U.S.) a barrel. Oil prices have essentially stopped going straight down and rose seven per cent last week despite data showing U.S. inventories at 80-year highs.
"With such a massive decline in such a short period of time, I can definitely see the argument in saying, we oversold," said Gareth Watson, Richardson GMP vice-president, investment management and research.
He added that "in all likelihood when you bounce back up, you tend to overshoot to the upside. And I don't know where this shakes out."
April bullion gained $6.60 to $1,241.20 an ounce and the gold sector was ahead 1.3 per cent.
The base metals sector was ahead 1.75 per cent as March copper erased an early decline and was unchanged at 2.59 a pound. Prices had earlier dipped amid data showing Chinese imports tumbled 19.7 per cent from a year earlier on top of a decline of 2.4 per cent a month earlier. Exports dropped 3.2 per cent year-on-year, compared with a 9.7 rise in December.
However, analysts pointed out that China's trade figures early in the year are often volatile because companies rush to fill orders before shutting down for the Lunar New Year, which falls in January or February.
Chinese demand for commodities has cooled as economic growth slowed.
Financials also provided lift, up 0.8 per cent.
Meanwhile, Greece's new radical left government appeared set on a collision course with the country's creditors. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is demanding a "bridge agreement" that would give Greece and its creditors time to negotiate a new debt deal much more favourable to the country by June.
The current bailout deal between Greece and its creditors runs until the end of February, but Tsipras said the government is "not entitled to ask for an extension," saying the bailout deals that have kept the country afloat "have been abolished by popular mandate."
There was also merger and acquisition activity in the resource sector.
Tahoe Resources Inc. and Rio Alto Mining are planning to merge their businesses to create a mid-sized silver and gold producer. Tahoe's offer values Rio Alto at about $1.3-billion (Canadian), based on Friday stock prices for the two companies. Rio Alto shares charged ahead 10 per cent to $3.61 while Tahoe fell 8.85 per cent to $16.08.