Toronto Stocks Edge Forward; Neighbourly Pharmacy Rises on C$415M Go-Private

By Adriano Marchese

Stocks in Toronto were slightly higher on Monday at midday as U.S. markets south of the borders were closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Investors are waiting on the sidelines for December’s Canadian inflation report on Tuesday, where analysts expect prices to have inched up slightly from a month earlier, according to FactSet.

Sector performance was mixed mid-session, with outsized losses in process industries, health tech and producer manufacturing offset gains primarily in communications, utilities and energy.
At midday, Canada’s S&P/TSX Composite Index was 0.11% higher at 21012.84 and the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 rose by 0.11% to 1267.09.
Shares of Neighbourly Pharmacy climbed nearly 16% to 18.21 Canadian dollars ($13.58) after the company said it agreed to be bought by PCP in a go-private deal worth about C$415 million.
Other market movers:
Thomson Reuters shares were 1.2% higher at C$197.23 after the Canadian media conglomerate said it increased its offer to 50 Swedish krona ($4.87) for the rest of the shares of Swedish information technology solutions company Pagero Group that it hasn’t yet acquired.
Orford Mining’s stock rose 100% to C$0.09 after it said it agreed to be fully acquired by Alamos Gold in a deal valued at C$24 million.
Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com