TORONTO — Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is moving the markets as Canadian investors bet on what he’ll do if he beats the Liberals in the Jan. 23 election.
With polls suggesting his party is headed toward a possible majority government, investors are rolling the dice once more on the on-again-off-again prospect that the country’s Big Six banks finally will be allowed to pursue mergers.
Shares of Bank of Montreal — the most obvious takeover target if Ottawa endorses consolidation — jumped 77 cents yesterday to close at $68.60 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, a day after reaching a 52-week high.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, which also figures to be prey for a larger rival, closed down 91 cents at $79.60 yesterday, almost negating Wednesday’s 1.6-per-cent gain.
None of these bets has paid off for investors during the last decade. But interest in the merger file always has enjoyed something of a Lazarus quality and this latest resurrection has occurred squarely in lockstep with the sudden revival of Harper’s Conservatives.
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