TORONTO -- The Toronto stock market rose Monday, supported by a rally in oil prices, while its New York counterparts were in a wait-and-see mood ahead of this week's highly-anticipated U.S. Federal Reserve meeting.
On Bay Street, the S&P/TSX composite index added on 45.54 points to 14,496.23, as part of a broad-based rally that saw real estate and metals sectors leading the gains.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.04 of a cent at 75.72 cents US.
On Wall Street, there was little movement as the Dow Jones industrial average faded 3.63 points at 18,120.17, while the broader S&P 500 index dipped 0.04 of a point at 2,139.12. The Nasdaq composite lost 9.54 points at 5,235.03.
Traders have been reluctant to make any major bets until the conclusion of the Fed's two-day policy meeting on Wednesday.
Most economists don't expect the central bank to move on interest rates at the meeting due to a series of weak economic indicators that were recently released, including a lower-than-expected August jobs report. The markets, however, will be interested to see if the Fed will provide any hints about whether they are still considering a hike this year.
"All eyes are on the Fed heading into their meeting, not only around if they're going to move interest rates but probably more focused on the commentary, their outlook and what they would forecast for future moves," said Craig Fehr, a Canadian markets strategist at Edward Jones in St. Louis.
The Fed isn't the only central bank who will be making a monetary policy announcement this week.
The Bank of Japan is expected to unveil further measures to boost the ailing Japanese economy. Possible action could involve an increase in its stimulus program or a further cut into negative territory in the deposit rate, aimed at encouraging banks to lend rather than hoard at the central bank.
Fehr said that markets will be paying attention to how the banks' approaches differ.
In other economic news, Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz is scheduled to speak on Tuesday in Quebec City in his first public comments since his cautious message following the central bank's latest interest rate decision. Earlier this month, the bank held it key interest rate target at 0.5 per cent, citing Canada's relatively weak export sector.
In commodities, the November contract for crude oil climbed 24 cents to US$43.86 per barrel after the Venezuelan president said there was a possibility of an output freeze between OPEC members and other major oil producers.
The October contract for natural gas dipped a penny to $2.93 per mmBtu, the December gold contract gained $7.60 to US$1,317.80 per ounce, and December copper was unchanged at $2.16 a pound.
With files from The Associated Press
