TSX hits record high as commodity stocks rotate

By Fergal Smith

(Reuters) – Major stocks on the Canadian stock market rose to all-time highs on Monday as a jump in oil prices boosted shares of energy companies and ahead of quarterly results from five of Canada’s six biggest banks due to be released this week.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite Index closed 62.89 points, or 0.3%, higher at 23,348.97.

This surpassed Friday’s record closing price, when Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell endorsed the start of interest rate cuts in the United States.

“It seems to be more of a trend shift toward commodities and away from some technology areas, and that’s good for the TSX,” said Greg Taylor, portfolio manager at Purpose Investments.

The energy sector climbed 1.6 percent as oil prices were 3.5 percent higher at $77.42 a barrel, with production cuts in Libya adding to supply concerns. The commodities sector, which includes metal miners and fertilizer producers, rose 0.2 percent.

“The rest of the market is just waiting for the banks,” Taylor said.

The Bank of Nova Scotia and the Bank of Montreal will report on Tuesday, followed by the Royal Bank of Canada and the National Bank of Canada on Wednesday and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce on Thursday.

Last Thursday, Toronto-Dominion Bank reported its first loss in more than two decades after setting aside an additional $2.6 billion to cover expected fines from U.S. regulators.

Only two of ten major sectors recorded declines, including the technology sector, which fell 0.6 percent in line with the declines in US technology stocks.

A decision that requires more than 9,000 Canadian rail workers to continue working is a victory for the railway and could also impact collective bargaining in other government-regulated industries such as aviation, the head of a Canadian rail workers’ union told Reuters.

Shares of Canadian National Railway Co and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd both closed higher. Air Canada gained 0.5%.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Nikhil Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and David Gregorio)