The benchmark index has gained for five straight sessions, adding nearly four per cent thanks to broad-based gains
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Bank buildings in Toronto’s financial district. Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tijana Martin files Canada’s main stock index scaled another record peak on Tuesday as a banks rally on prospects of higher interest rates cushioned weakness in commodity-linked sectors.
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At 9:45 a.m. ET (13:45 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 58.73 points, or 0.27 per cent, at 22,067.86, set for its longest winning streak since October.
“The exceptional breadth has been the most impressive aspect of this market rally,” said Brandon Michael, senior investment analyst at ABC Funds.
The benchmark index has gained for five straight sessions, adding nearly four per cent thanks to broad-based gains.
“Strong breadth is something you typically see at the beginning of a rally, not the end, which could elongate the current win streak,” Michael said.
Leading the charge on Tuesday, the heavyweight financials sector jumped 1.1 per cent as U.S. counterparts gained on growing bets of aggressive interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve.
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Several Canadian banks have operations in the United States and monetary policy is also expected to tighten at home, with Bank of Canada saying earlier this month that rates would need to go higher after delivering its first interest rate hike since 2018.
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The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 0.9 per cent, while healthcare shares advanced 0.7 per cent.
Among individual shares, Air Canada rose 1.8 per cent after saying it would add 26 extra-long-range versions of the Airbus A321neo aircraft to its fleet.
On the economic front, domestic producer prices rose by 3.1 per cent in February from January, the largest monthly gain in more than 42 years, on higher prices for energy and petroleum products.
© Thomson Reuters 2022
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