By Fergal Smith
(Reuters) -Canada’s main stock index edged higher on Monday as investors remained bullish following the U.S. presidential election, but gains were held in check by a sharp decline in gold mining shares.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended up 29.88 points, or 0.1%, at 24,789.28, moving closer to the record closing high it posted last Thursday.
“The TSX is on a roll today, building on a rally sparked by Donald Trump’s election victory,” said Brandon Michael, senior investment analyst at ABC Funds.
“Financial services, technology, and industrials are leading the market higher. These are high-beta, risk-on sectors – which is exactly what you want to see in a bullish environment for stocks.”
Expectations for lower corporate taxes and deregulation under U.S. President-elect Donald Trump have helped boost stocks globally in recent days.
High-beta stocks include stocks that are more volatile than the market as a whole.
Financials, the most heavily weighted sector on the TSX, rose 0.9% and technology was up 1.9%. Shares of e-commerce company Shopify Inc (NYSE:SHOP) climbed 3.4% ahead of the release of its quarterly earnings on Tuesday.
“A big winner of Trump’s election victory is the U.S. dollar, which has strengthened significantly, and that is a major headwind for commodities,” Michael said.
The U.S. dollar climbed to a four-month high against a basket of major currencies, while gold and copper prices fell.
The materials sector, which includes metal mining shares and fertilizer companies, was down 4.1%. Energy was little changed, declining 0.04%, as oil settled 3.3% lower at $68.04 a barrel.
