Canada Stocks: TSX hits record high as Shopify and metal miners surge
CANADA STOCKS-TSX hits record high as Shopify and metal miners surge Updates at market close
By Sudeshna Ghoshal and Fergal Smith
TORONTO, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index notched another record high on Wednesday, led by sharp gains for metal mining shares as well as for the shares of Shopify SHOP.TO after the e-commerce company delivered a strong outlook and market-beating quarterly results.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Composite index .GSPTSE ended up 344.83 points, or 1%, at 36,146.42, surpassing Tuesday's record closing high.
"Shopify is obviously a bellwether for tech in Canada," said Allan Small, senior investment adviser of the Allan Small Financial Group with iA Private Wealth. "When these companies report good earnings ... it adds to this idea that tech companies are still doing well, that the AI spend is not stopping."
Shopify shares jumped 16.5% to the highest level since January 19. The company issued a rosy third-quarter forecast as its AI efforts draw more merchants to a suite of e-commerce services, assuaging fears over growing competition.
The broader technology index .SPTTTK advanced 2.5%, while the materials group .GSPTTMT added 5.6%, marking its second straight day of sharp gains. The price of gold XAU= was up 4.2% to trade at its highest level in nearly seven weeks.
Consumer discretionary .GSPTTCD rose 1.3% and heavily weighted financials .GSPTTFS ended 0.4% higher.
iA Financial IAG.TO shares gained 2.8% after the provider of insurance products and wealth management services topped quarterly core earnings estimates.
Four of the 10 major sectors ended lower, including energy .GSPTTEN, which fell 3%. The price of oil CLc1 settled 0.7% lower at $75.22 a barrel on revived expectations of a de-escalation in Iran war hostilities that could restore shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
Suncor Energy SU.TO beat second-quarter adjusted profit estimates as higher crude price realizations and stronger refining margins offset weaker upstream production. Still, its shares ended 2.9% lower.
Thomson Reuters TRI.TO lifted its full-year revenue forecast, with CEO Steve Hasker saying that the company's focus was on investing and developing AI across its portfolio. Its shares were down 10.2%, pulling back from an earlier six-month high.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Sudeshna Ghoshal in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Ananda and Will Dunham)
((fergal.smith@thomsonreuters.com; +1 647 480 7446))
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