CANADA STOCKS-TSX notches record high as investor exuberance grows
By Fergal Smith
May 15 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose to a record high on Thursday, helped by gains for industrial and financial shares, as recent de-escalation of the global trade war fueled investor excitement about the market's prospects.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE ended up 205.03 points, or 0.8%, at 25,897.48, eclipsing the record closing high it posted on January 30.
"Day-to-day we're seeing big swings in investor exuberance," said Michael Sprung, president at Sprung Investment Management.
Investors could be "trying to read into some of these deals in the Middle East and the (potential) boost to the economy," Sprung said.
A series of investment deals from the Middle East, during U.S. President Donald Trump's ongoing Gulf tour, along with earlier positive news on cooler U.S. inflation data and the U.S.-China tariff dispute has raised investor sentiment.
"We have this presumed de-escalation of the trade war with China but I'm not certain how long that will last," Sprung said.
The industrials sector rose 1.8%, led by a gain of 10.9% for the shares of AtkinsRealis Group Inc ATRL.TO after the engineering services firm reported first-quarter profit and revenue above estimates.
Heavily weighted financials added 1%, while the materials group, which includes metal mining shares, was up 1.3% as gold XAU= rallied.
Energy was the only one of 10 major sectors to lose ground. It fell 1.3% as the price of oil CLc1 settled 2.4% lower at $61.62 a barrel on expectations for a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal.
