Toronto stocks enjoyed a rally Monday as record oil prices boosted resource and energy shares.
The S&P/TSX composite index rose 112.23 points, or 0.78%, to close at 14,467.44. Trading volumes were light ahead of Tuesday’s Canada Day holiday.
The benchmark is up 4.6%, year to date.
Five of the 10 main sectors advanced today, including energy and the resource-heavy materials group, which added 1.75% and 1.76% respectively.
After hitting a record high above US$143.67 a barrel overnight, crude oil futures finished down 21¢ at US$140 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold futures fell back US$6.30 to end at US$925 an ounce on the Nymex.
Financial stocks gave up 0.45% as concerns over the credit crunch and the health of the economy lingered.
The junior S&P/TSX Venture jumped 42.38 points, or 1.63%, to end at 2,635.78.
The Canadian dollar slipped fell almost 1¢ against the U.S. greenback. The loonie shed 0.82¢ from Friday’s close at US98.07¢.
In today’s economic news, Canada’s gross domestic product rebounded in April after shrinking in February and March, Statistics Canada reported.
In New York, U.S. stocks were little changed on the final trading day of a dismal second quarter as record oil prices offset weakness in financial stocks hounded by fears of further credit losses.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 3.50 points, or 0.03% to close at 11,350.01. The S&P 500 added 1.62 points, or 0.13%, to 1,280.00. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 22.65 points, or 0.98%, to finish at 2,292.98.
The Dow posted a loss of 10.2% for June and a 7.4% loss for the second quarter.
The S&P 500 fell 8.6% in June, and 3.3% in the quarter.
The Nasdaq fell 9.1% in June. It rose 0.6% in the second quarter, but is down 13.6% year to date.