CANADA STOCKS-TSX hits another record high as gold, copper prices climb

By Fergal Smith

TORONTO, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Thursday to another record high as metal prices increased and investors cheered upbeat domestic economic data.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index .GSPTSE ended up 169.88 points, or 0.5%, at 31,660.73, surpassing its record closing high on Wednesday.

"Incremental data that's been coming in for the Canadian economy recently has been quite positive, and that's helping this leg of the rally," said Elvis Picardo, a senior portfolio manager at Luft Financial, iA Private Wealth. "It shows that despite all the doom and gloom about the impact of tariffs the economy is weathering the storm quite nicely."

Canada posted a monthly international trade surplus in September, reversing a trend of seven consecutive months of deficits. On Wednesday, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said the economy was proving resilient overall to the effect of U.S. trade measures, as the central bank left its benchmark interest rate on hold at 2.25%.

The TSX is also "benefiting from the perception that it's a diversified play, and if I look at year-to-date performance, it's spread across the four big groups that make up much of the index, unlike in the U.S., where the advance seems to be much more concentrated in tech," Picardo said.

Financials, energy, technology and materials, which account for 77% of the TSX's market capitalization, have all notched gains since the start of 2025.

The materials group .GSPTTMT rose 3.1% on Thursday, and has nearly doubled on a year-to-date basis, as gold XAU= and copper HGc1 prices climbed.

Industrials .GSPTTIN added 0.5% and financials .SPTTFS ended 0.4% higher.

Shares of TerraVest Industries Inc TVK.TO jumped 22.3% after the home heating products company reported fourth-quarter results.

Still, the energy sector ended 0.7% lower as the price of oil CLc1 settled down 1.5% at $57.60 a barrel.

Technology stocks .SPTTTK also were a drag, falling 1%, after Oracle's ORCL.N quarterly results and forecast disappointed investors and revived concerns about an AI bubble.

Shares of Empire Company EMPa.TO dropped 9.2% after the company reported a decline in second-quarter earnings per share compared to the previous year.