For the first time ever, the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) has closed above the 23,000 level.
Canada’s benchmark stock exchange, known officially as the S&P/TSX Composite Index, climbed 1.3% to close at 23,110.81 points on July 31.
The exchange was driven higher as investors rotate money into blue-chip value stocks and commodities.
The milestone was the fourteenth time this year that the Toronto exchange reached a fresh all-time high, due mostly to a rally in commodities such as gold and copper and stocks related to commodities.
The Toronto Stock Exchange, which is Canada’s only sizable equity exchange, is disproportionately weighted towards commodities and the country’s five big banks.
Stocks related to the energy and materials sectors, combined with the banks, comprise more than 60% of the index.
Also, despite the gains this year, the Toronto Stock Exchange continues to trail the performance of equity markets in the neighbouring U.S.
Year-to-date, the Toronto Stock Exchange has gained 10% versus a 16% increase in the benchmark S&P 500 and a 19% rise in the technology-laden Nasdaq Composite indices.
American equity markets have, until recently, been driven higher by a rally in mega-cap technology stocks.
