04:15 PM EST, 11/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange moved higher on Monday on improving commodity prices and hopes for a rising U.S. economy under a Trump Administration.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 86.26 points to close at 24,976.94. The Base Metals and Energy sectors led gains, up 1.66% and 0.99%, respectively. Battery Metals was down 1.09%.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil rose sharply on Monday after Equinor (EQNR) suspended production at the 500,000-barrel per day Johan Sverdrup field offshore Norway following a power outage. WTI crude oil for December delivery closed up US$2.16 to settle at US$69.16 per barrel, while January Brent crude, the global benchmark, closed up US$2.26 to US$73.30.

Gold prices rose late afternoon on Monday, rebounding from six losing sessions as the dollar and treasury yields weakened. Gold for December delivery was last seen up US$43.90 to US$2,614.00 per ounce, rising off Friday's two-month low.

Desjardins on Monday noted that while economic indicators remain mixed in most of the world's major economies, the election of a new president to the White House has "shaken things up" and forced Desjardins to revise the outlook for growth. Desjardins said the deregulation and tax cuts proposed by President-elect Trump could "juice up" U.S. and global growth as early as 2025. It added investor optimism and soaring markets could fuel growth even before he takes office.

But, Desjardins also noted, all of the new policies he's proposed could have an inflationary effect, which is already being reflected by sharply rising bond yields. New tariffs on imports and a reduction in the number of immigrants to the United States could also hit medium-term growth, both in the U.S. and elsewhere.

On U.S. rates, Desjardins said the Federal Reserve needs to be cautious. The Fed may very well have to slow the pace of its rate reductions to offset the inflationary effects of the policies that will be implemented by the new administration, it added.

According to Desjardins in the same report, Canada's economy is "still spinning its wheels." It noted the Canadian economy still isn't giving off many positive signals, even though the Bank of Canada has cut rates several times since the summer began, and real GDP stayed flat in August, which suggests annualized growth will amount to less than 1.0% for the third quarter. Canada's employment market also cooled in October, with just 15,000 new jobs added. This left the unemployment rate unchanged at 6.5%.

Desjardins said: "The good news is that more sustained U.S. short-term growth could also push up demand in Canada. However, the negative effects of uncertainty over trade policy and potential tariffs could hit the Canadian economy later on."

All of this, Desjardins said, means Canadian and U.S. rates may diverge even further. It added: "One of the biggest impacts of the election of the new U.S. president will be greater divergence between the Canadian and U.S. economies. While new tariffs could adversely affect both countries, the hit to Canada could be bigger. Given the current weakness of Canada's economy, the BoC is expected to keep its key rate on a downward path, despite the political change in the U.S. Rates may have to fall even further after 2025 to offset the adverse effects of U.S. policies."