The Canadian market reached a new all-time high on Monday, continuing its positive momentum for the fourth consecutive session, driven primarily by gains in the energy sector.
Investor sentiment remained buoyed by the expectation of a potential interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which reached a new intra-day high of 22,818.42, closed with a gain of 78.16 points or 0.34%, settling at a record 22,751.68.
The Energy Capped Index rose by 1.79%. Precision Drilling Corp (PD.TO) saw a significant increase of approximately 4.8%, while Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) surged by 4%. MEG Energy (MEG.TO), Tamarack Valley Energy (TVE.TO), Headwater Exploration (HWX.TO), Baytex Energy (BTE.TO), and Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) recorded gains ranging from 2% to 3.4%. Prairiesky Royalty (PSK.TO) advanced nearly 2%.
Stelco Holdings (STLC.TO) experienced a remarkable rise of 74% following the announcement by Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (CLF), an American steel manufacturer, of its agreement to acquire the Canadian steel company for C$70 per share, with the transaction to be settled in both cash and stock. This acquisition implies a total enterprise value of nearly C$3.4 billion (approximately $2.5 billion USD) for Stelco.
Hut 8 Corp (HUT.TO) soared by 18%. Other notable gains included Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO), Precision Drilling Corporation (PD.TO), TFI International (TFII.TO), and Celestica Inc (CLS.TO), which increased between 3.3% and 5%.
Strong performances were also observed in Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO), Boyd Group Services (BYD.TO), and Constellation Software (CSU.TO).
On the economic front, data from Statistics Canada revealed that manufacturing sales rose by 0.4% month-over-month in May, compared to a preliminary estimate of a 0.3% increase, easing from an upwardly revised 1.4% gain in April.
Wholesale sales in Canada dipped by 0.8% in May, which was a smaller decline than the preliminary estimate of 0.9%. This followed a 2.4% increase in wholesale sales in April.
Additionally, Statistics Canada reported that car registrations in the country rose to 184,703 units in May, the highest level since August 2019, up from 175,066 units in April.
