Canadian market up for fifth straight day to extend record high

Canada's main stock market in Toronto extended its all-time high on Monday, as gains in Consumer Discretionary and Financial sectors outpaced the losses in energy and gold stocks.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite moved up 27.46 points, or 0.17 percent, to close the day at 15,756.58 points. Half of the ten sub-groups finished the session higher.

The TSX Consumer Discretionary group, which is made up of producers of non-essentials products such as automobiles, apparel and entertainment, posted the strongest gains on the day, rising 0.97 percent.

The group was fuelled by Restaurant Brands International Inc. shares jumping 4.48 percent to 70.22 Canadian dollars (53.71 U.S. dollars) after reporting fourth quarter earnings that saw a rise in revenues and decline in costs. The Oakville-based firm, which owns fast food brands such as Tim Hortons and Burger King, saw consolidated revenues grow 1.65 percent to 2.2 billion U.S. dollars and cost of sales dip 4.54 percent to 1.8 billion U.S. dollars.

Also gaining within the group were department store retailer Hudson Bay's Company and loyalty management firm Aimia Inc., climbing 4.72 percent and 3.93 percent, respectively.

The heavyweight Financials group also came out ahead on the day, as insurance firm Manulife Financial Corporation was the most actively traded stock on the session with nearly nine million shares exchanged. Shares of the Toronto-based firm advanced 0.74 percent to close at 24.59 Canadian dollars (18.81 U.S. dollars). Also finishing higher was rival Sun Life Financial Inc., ascending 1.03 percent to 52.18 Canadian dollars (39.91 U.S. dollars) a share.

Other groups to finish the day in positive territory were: Health Care (0.96 percent), Industrials (0.74 percent), and Information Technology (0.21 percent).

The Industrials group was aided by four of Canada' s largest transportation companies. Airlines Air Canada and WestJet Airlines Ltd. rose 2.65 percent and 1.26 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, rail firms Canadian Pacific Railway Limited and Canadian National Railway Company posted respective gains of 1.25 percent and 1.17 percent.

The biggest losers on the day were Materials and Energy groups, slipping 0.41 percent each.

The TSX Materials group, which is made up of producers of gold, precious metals, and raw materials fell as gold and silver prices declined on the day. The spot price of gold gave back 8.20 U.S. dollars to close at 1,224.70 an ounce. Meanwhile, the same weight of silver faded 13 cents to finish the session at 17.80 U.S. dollars.

As a result, miners Kinross Gold Corporation and Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. saw the biggest losses of the day, retreating 3.00 percent and 2.98 percent, respectively. Barrick Gold Corporation, the world' s largest gold miner faded 0.51 percent to finish the session at 25.38 Canadian dollars (19.41 U.S. dollars).

Energy fell after Brent crude oil saw its biggest single-day loss in five weeks. The price for a barrel delivered in April plummeted 1.92 percent to 55.59 U.S. dollars. Subsequently, Calgary-based energy firm Encana Corporation saw stocks fall 1.25 percent to close the day at 16.57 Canadian dollars (12.67 U.S. dollars).

Other groups to lose ground on the day included: Telecommunications (0.38 percent), Utilities (0.12 percent), and Consumer Staples (0.09 percent).

The Canadian dollar ticked up 0.07 cents to begin the week at 0.7649 U.S. dollars. Endite