US shares close firmly higher
Pound gains as May allays Brexit fears
TSX in Toronto up over 156 pts
US stocks ended Monday surging ahead, with the Dow Jones up over 336 points at 24,874.
The S&P 500 added 29.69 to close at 2,720.
The Tech heavy Nasdaq index gained almost 73 points at 7,330.
US crude added 2.19% to stand at US$62.59 a barrel.
Earlier in London, FTSE 100 added around 46 at 7,115.
The US dollar gave up its earlier gains against sterling as the British pound rose again after UK Prime Minister Theresa May said a Brexit transition deal between the UK and the EU was close.
Fears in the US over President Trump's tariff plans are also easing.
In Toronto, the TSX index there added over 156 points at 15,541.
MID-SESSION
US benchmarks were surging at mid-session, with the Dow Jones up 292 points at 24,830.
The broader based S&P 500 added over 29 points at 2,720, while the tech heavy Nasdaq gained over 75 points at 7,333.
US crude, or West Texas Intermediate, added 2.11% to stand at US$62.53 a barrel.
In Toronto, the TSX added 146 points at 15,530.
It comes as US services firms grew more slowly this month (February) compared with last, but still expanded at a healthy pace.
The Institute for Supply Management said its services index slipped to 59.5, from 59.9 in January.
But notably, the January reading was the highest since 2005.
Among the top gainers in New York was Clearside Biomedical Inc (NASDAQ:CLSD), which rocketed over 32% to US$ 10.37 after the biopharma announced an encouraging update from ongoing clinical studies.
The company said its pivotal phase 3 clinical trial of its suprachoroidal CLS-TA in patients with macular edema achieved positive topline results.
OPEN
US stocks started in the red on Monday, with the Dow Jones down almost 98 points to 24,443.
The broader based S&P 500 index shed almost ten points at 2,681, while the Nasdaq was down over 28 at 7,228 in early deals.
In London, FTSE 100 was near flat, just above negative at 7,071.
US crude - West Texas Intermediate, was up 0.26% to US$ 61.40 a barrel.
In stocks, Footlocker Inc (NYSE:FL) was a notable riser, up 3.52% to US$41.45 a share, after it posted fourth quarter and full year results.
One NYT reader's reaction to President Trump's tweet that "trade wars are good" https://t.co/FxA5PJ3zER pic.twitter.com/SF91yaMnCz
— The New York Times (@nytimes) 2 March 2018