Bank of Montreal's (BMO.TO) quarterly profit rose by a higher-than-expected 18 percent as capital markets income surged and a recent U.S. acquisition started to contribute, Canada's No. 4 lender said on Tuesday. The results, the first in a wave of Canadian bank reports due over the next two weeks, boosted BMO's shares and suggested the bank's rivals may also outperform in a quarter that had been expected to be dismal for lenders. "They beat expectations on all the main factors, which is not only positive for BMO, but bodes well for the group," said John Aiken, an analyst at Barclays Capital. BMO stock was up 3.3 percent at C$59.22 on the Toronto Stock Exchange just after midday, and shares of other Canadian banks were also hither.
Shares of BMO traded higher by 3.65% or $2.11/share to $59.95. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $51.11 and as high as $66.64. On average, 1184120 shares of BMO exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 931640.
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