Canadian stock market closes at record high

 Canada's main stock market in Toronto on Tuesday set an all-time high for the sixth time in the past seven trading days, as gains in Consumer Discretionary and Energy stocks led the way.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite eclipsed its former all-time high on Feb. 10 and extended it for five more days before a loss on Friday.

The index bounced back on Tuesday with a 83.74 point increase, or 0.53 percent, to begin the week at 15,922.37 points. All 10 sub-groups finished the session higher.

Four groups saw increases of more than one percent: Consumer Discretionary (1.37 percent), Health Care (1.31 percent), Industrials (1.29 percent), and Energy (1.19 percent).

The Consumer Discretionary group, which is made up of producers of non-essentials products such as automobiles, apparel and entertainment, rose after Restaurant Brands International Inc. announced the acquisition of chicken fast food franchise Popeyes Louisana Kitchen for 1.8 billion U.S. dollars.

The acquisition adds 2,600 stores across 26 countries to Ontario-based firm's existing portfolio of 20,000 stores combined between Tim Hortons and Burger King brands. As a result, Restaurant Brand shares soared 7.05 percent to close at 75.65 Canadian dollars (57.58 U.S. dollars).

The TSX Industrials group jumped after British Columbia-based Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc. reported a 9.79 percent rise in revenues during the year.

The industrial auctioneer saw shares surge 12.72 percent to 45.72 Canadian dollars. Also gaining within the group were Bombardier Inc. and Air Canada, advancing 1.19 percent and 1.90 percent, respectively.

The Energy group was fuelled by a 1.67 percent jump in crude oil price. A barrel of Brent delivered for April closed 93 cents higher to finish at 56.68 U.S. dollars. Subsequently, Calgary-based Baytex Energy Corp. shares climbed 3.71 percent to 5.31 Canadian dollars.

The remaining groups that all moved up on Tuesday included: Consumer Staples (0.87 percent), Information Technology (0.87 percent), Materials (0.52 percent), Utilities (0.18 percent), Financials (0.12 percent), and Telecommunications (0.04 percent).

The Consumer Staples group benefited from gains from two of the country's largest food retailers. Quebec-based convenient store franchise Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. saw shares rise 1.97 percent, while Loblaw Companies Limited shares saw a 1.20 percent increase.

The TSX Materials group, which consists of producers of gold, precious metals, and raw materials, received a boost as the price of copper rose 1.42 percent to 2.7329 U.S. dollars a pound.

As a result, two Vancouver-based firms that predominately produce the base metal posted strong gains on the day.

Shares of First Quantum Minerals Ltd. leaped 3.87 percent to 15.58 Canadian dollars (11.86 U.S. dollars), while Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. saw shares grow 3.50 percent to 5.30 Canadian dollars (3.83 U.S. dollars).

The Canadian dollar dipped 0.24 cents to finish the day at 0.7611 U.S. dollars.

source: Xinhua