CANADA STOCKS-Cannabis, mining shares lift TSX to record high

By Twesha Dikshit and Avinash P

Dec 12 (Reuters) - Canada's benchmark stock index hit a fresh intraday peak on Friday, with cannabis and mining shares leading gains, ending a week filled with central bank meetings.

The TSX index .GSPTSE was up 0.2% at 31,731.35 points by 09:38 a.m. ET, and set for a weekly gain. The commodity-heavy index is up 28% for the year and has outperformed its Wall Street peers due to a stellar performance from its mining and materials shares.

"Global stocks are trading at record highs despite ongoing technology valuation doubts," said Bob Savage, head of markets macro strategy at BNY.

"The ongoing themes of equity sector rotation, a better 2026 outlook aided by Fed easing, and tame inflation leave hopes that doing nothing will keep the holiday rally intact."

Healthcare index .GSPTTHC gained the most on Friday at 5.4%, with the shares of cannabis firm Curaleaf CURA.TO soaring 26%.

Shares of cannabis companies rose after a Washington Post report said U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to push the government to dramatically loosen federal restrictions on marijuana. Canada's Canopy Growth WEED.TO and Tilray Brands TLRY.TO rose 22% and 33%, respectively.

Gold .SPTTGD and mining .GSPTTMT indexes rose, gaining 1.9% and 1.6%, respectively, with silver XAG= prices hitting a new record, while gold XAU= prices hit a seven-week high and copper eased below its record peak.

On the flip side, technology shares .SPTTTK fell the most at 2.3% with electronics equipment company Celestica CLS.TO dropping 7.4% and e-commerce company Shopify SHOP.TO falling 1.5%.

Energy shares SPTTEN also fell 0.3%, tracking oil prices.

Investor sentiment this week was buoyed by a widely anticipated 25 basis points cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve, while the Bank of Canada kept rates on hold, pointing to a resilient economy.

On Thursday, Canada posted a monthly international trade surplus in September, reversing a trend of seven consecutive months of deficits.