Canada's main stock market closed at a new record high on Thursday, beating the previous apex set last summer. The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 68 points or 0.4% to close at 16,612. The previous record close was 16,567. For the week, the TSX was up 0.8% and has climbed 15.5% for 2019. South of the border, the Dow Jones gained 110 points today, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% while the Nasdaq was flat.
On the TSX, consumer discretionary stocks led advancers, rising 1.7%, followed by healthcare, up 1.3%. Tech gained 1.1% while financials were up 0.4%. Energy was flat even as oil posted modest gains to settle at $64 per barrel. Materials shed 0.4% as gold prices dropped 1.5% for the week.
In stock news , heavily traded Canopy Growth (WEED.TO) shares jumped nearly 5% after the cannabis company purchased U.S. firm Acreage Holdings for more than $3 billion. Other top performers today included Bombardier (BBD-B.TO), up 3%, and Martinrea International (MRE.TO), also up 3%. Among the weaker performers today, Rogers Communications (RCI-B.TO) fell 3% after the telecom missed on both profit and revenue expectations. Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO) lost 4% while and Kinross Gold (K.TO) was down 3%.
In economic news, retail sales rose by 0.8% m/m in February. This was higher than the consensus expectation of a 0.4% increase. Sales excluding autos were also higher than expected, rising by 0.6% m/m (consensus: 0.2%). Higher retail prices were the main factor behind the increase in the value of retail sales in the month. In February, retail prices were up by 0.6%, led by service stations, home furnishings, groceries, and shoes. From a year ago, retail prices are up by 0.2%. Real retail sales rose by 0.2% m/m, led by a 0.9% increase in sales of motor vehicles, and an increase in sales at service stations. Real retail sales excluding autos and service stations (core retail sales), which account for almost two-thirds of the total, fell by 0.2%. From a year ago, real retail sales are up by 1.7%.
Stock and bond markets are closed tomorrow for Good Friday with Easter Monday open, but expected to be quiet.
The Canadian dollar fell about a quarter of a cent to 74.72 US.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
