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Toronto Stock Market's Main Index Hits Record High, Buoyed By Bank, Energy Stocks

10 Feb, 2017 12:29 PM

TORONTO — The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index soared to a new record high Friday, driven by strength in bank and energy stocks.

At one point, the S&P/TSX composite index surged to 15,736.64 points, beating an intraday record high of 15,685.13 set on Sept. 3, 2014.

In mid-afternoon trading, the benchmark index was up 110.46 points at 15,727.76.

The growth was fuelled by the three largest sectors of the market — materials, financials and oil, said Allan Small, a senior adviser at Holliswealth.

"You have all those three higher," he said. "Usually, it's a recipe for success at the Toronto stock market."

The TSX's all-time closing high is 15,657.63, set on Sept. 3, 2014.

The momentum in Toronto builds upon optimism in New York, where the major U.S. market indices continued to add gains after a trifecta of record highs Thursday.

Shortly after 2 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average added 115.19 points at 20,287.59, the S&P 500 advanced 10.29 points at 2,318.16 and the Nasdaq composite index rose 24.62 points at 5,739.80.

The rally comes after U.S. President Donald Trump promised on Thursday that he'd soon reveal a business-friendly tax plan that the markets have been waiting for since his Jan. 20 inauguration.

The loonie, meanwhile, was at 76.36 cents US, up 0.25 of a U.S. cent.

The March crude contract was up 86 cents at US$53.86 per barrel and the April gold contract fell US$3.90 at $1,232.90 an ounce.

March natural gas was down 9.8 cents at US$3.04 per mmBtu and March copper contracts were up 11.7 cents to US$2.77 a pound.

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