Canada's main stock index edged slightly higher to a new record close Monday, helped by commodity price gains that lifted the energy and mining sectors.
From a Canadian perspective, the TSX's heavy exposure to energy and mining stocks means the index got a lift from Monday's commodities prices, said Stephen Duench, vice-president and portfolio manager at AGF Investments Inc. "We've been seeing the positive commodity performance over the last few weeks, and that really benefits our home market, Canada, for obvious reasons — like sector exposure."
"You've seen the last few weeks where you've had commodities doing better, you've had the TSX doing a lot better in March," Duench said. The Institute for Supply Management report showed U.S. manufacturing unexpectedly returned to growth last month, snapping a 16-month run of contraction. Following the manufacturing data release, traders on Wall Street briefly trimmed bets on the first cut to rates coming as soon as June.