Canada Stocks: Resource shares help lift Toronto market to record high

WEC Energy

17/10/2024 21:29

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      TSX ends up 0.5%, at 24,690.48
    

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      Eclipses Wednesday's all-time peak
    

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      Energy rises 1.2%; oil settles higher
    

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      Materials gains 0.7%; gold hits record high
    

  
 (Updates at market close)
    By Nikhil Sharma and Fergal Smith
       Oct 17 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index extended
its record-setting run on Thursday, led by gains for resource
and financial shares, as commodity prices rose and U.S. retail
sales data bolstered investor optimism about the economy.
    The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
 .GSPTSE  ended up 129.28 points, or 0.5%, at 24,690.48,
eclipsing the record closing high it posted on Wednesday.
    U.S. retail sales increased solidly in September, supporting
the view that the economy maintained a strong growth pace in the
third quarter.
    "You have an economy that remains on solid footing,
corporate profits on the rise, and central banks letting off the
brakes," said Angelo Kourkafas, investment strategist at Edward
Jones Investments.
    "And all of that adds to the soft-landing optimism that has
fueled the market gains so far here to date."    
    Canada sends about 75% of its exports to the United States,
including oil. Oil  CLc1  settled 0.4% higher at $70.67 a barrel
after data showed falling crude and fuel inventories in the
United States.
    The energy group rose 1.2%, while materials, which includes
fertilizer companies and metal mining shares, added 0.7% as gold
 XAU=  climbed to an all-time high.
    Financials, the Toronto market's most heavily weighted
sector, advanced 0.6% as bank stocks added to their recent
gains.
    "The mostly upbeat earnings reports we've seen from U.S.
banks has helped support Canadian financials", along with
expectations of an aggressive interest rate cut in Canada, said
Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets.
    The BoC will cut its benchmark interest rate by an unusually
large 50 basis points next week as price pressures ease,
according to two-thirds of economists polled by Reuters.
     BRP Inc  DOO.TO  said it's  initiating a process for the
sale of its marine businesses. Its shares ended 0.7% higher.

 (Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Nikhil Sharma in
Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Diane Craft)
 ((fergal.smith@thomsonreuters.com; +1 647 480 7446))