Canada's main stock index advanced to its highest in almost six years on Monday after violence in Iraq pushed up the price of oil, driving gains in the heavyweight energy sector. Investors followed news of Sunni insurgents seizing a mainly ethnic Turkmen city in north-western Iraq on Sunday after heavy fighting. The benchmark index, which has climbed in 11 of the last 12 sessions, is up more than 10 percent this year.
"There's still plenty of room for the Canadian market to keep running," said Gavin Graham, chief strategy officer at Integris Pension Management Corp. He expects strength in the financial and energy sectors to boost the index. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 50.42 points, or 0.34 percent, at 15,052.45. It earlier hit 15,063.04, its highest level since June 19, 2008. All of the 10 main sectors on the index were higher.
With the price of US crude oil hovering above $107, shares of energy producers climbed 0.4 percent. Suncor Energy Incgained 0.9 percent to C$46.77, and Enbridge Inc rose 0.7 percent to C$51.41. Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, added 0.4 percent, with Royal Bank of Canada advancing 0.4 percent to C$75.52 and Toronto Dominion Bank gaining 0.4 percent to C$54.38.
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