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TSX Closer: The Index Sets a Fresh Record Closing High

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The Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday set its second record close in three sessions, with most sectors higher as investors returned for more buying after a day-prior drop, while there continues to be a general satisfaction in the market that the Canadian federal government is working on strengthening the economy.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 415.52 points, or 1.2%, to 35,217.06, beating Tuesday's record close of 35,169.46. Most sectors were higher, led by Health Care, up 3.2%. But the Battery Metals Index fell 4.5%.

According to FactSet the TSX going in to today was up 11.13% from its 2026 closing low of 31317.41 hit March 20 and year to date up 3,088.78 points or 9.74%.

Base Metals were down 0.9% even though gold prices were higher by midafternoon Thursday as the dollar and treasury yields weakened, while oil prices dropped after Israel and Lebanon reached a ceasefire agreement, lowering the inflation fears that have kept the precious mental rangebound since the start of the war between the United States and Iran. Gold for July delivery was up US$40.50 to US$4,507.40 per ounce.

Energy was up 1.2% even as West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed down 3.1%. WTI crude oil for July delivery was down US$2.98 to settle at US$93.04 per barrel, while August Brent oil was down US$3.53 to US$94.28.

After months of delay, the federal government has unveiled its AI strategy Thursday, outlining a vision focused on job creation, sovereignty and increased AI adoption, CTV News noted. But the plan lacks details on how Canadians will be protected from the technology's potentially adverse effects, it said.

CTV News noted the strategy explicitly pledges to help create 250,000 jobs by 2031 and generate an additional $200 billion of economic growth. But it also noted the Conference Board of Canada recently projected AI and automation could lead to an initial loss of 550,000 jobs by 2030 as businesses restructure. In a technical briefing with reporters prior to today's announcement, government officials said they don't contest or agree with the Conference Board of Canada report, but will "monitor the impacts of potential displacements", CTV noted. "We have done a high adoption scenario to be able to understand what we believe will be created as a function of sectors on a high adoption scale," the official said.

Meanwhile, the federal government announced a new industry-led alliance aimed at growing the skilled workforce for Canada's mining industry, which is struggling to fill key jobs, The Canadian Press reported. It noted jobs Minister Patty Hajdu made the announcement Thursday in southwestern Nova Scotia, saying the new body, dubbed the mining and minerals workforce alliance, is part of Prime Minister Mark Carney's drive to build a more independent economy.

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International

New Zealand Property Values Flat in May, Cotality Says

The national median home value in New Zealand held steady in May at NZ$808,187, unchanged from April but down 0.1% over the past three months, according to Cotality's Home Value Index released Thursday.Values were 0.6% lower than a year earlier and remain 17% below the early 2022 peak of NZ$974,002.Among the main centers, Christchurch led monthly gains with a 0.4% rise, while Dunedin and Tauranga each edged up 0.2%, and Hamilton added 0.1%. Auckland and Wellington continued to slide, falling 0.2% and 0.3% respectively."There are differing patterns beneath the surface. Key areas, including Auckland and Wellington, are still subdued, while even 'strong' markets such as Christchurch or Invercargill aren't racing away," saidCotality NZ Chief Property Economist, Kelvin Davidson.Auckland's modest overall decline in May was broad-based, with nearly all sub-markets slipping 0.2% or 0.3%. The exceptions were Rodney, which gained 0.2%, and Franklin, which was unchanged."The longer the OCR stays on hold, the greater the chances inflation is harder to rein back in again, which will tend to put more upwards pressure on mortgage rates," Davidson added.Davidson warned that upward pressure on mortgage rates raises the risk of a more pronounced economic slowdown, which could weigh on household confidence, the labor market, and both property sales and prices."All in all, housing market conditions remain challenging. Having previously anticipated sales volumes rising from around 90,000 in 2025 to 100,000 this year, the market may actually do well to hold at similar levels to last year. This points to a sluggish outlook for values too," Davidson said.

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International

Market Chatter: India's Bank Lending Hits Two-Year High as Firms Choose Loans Over Bonds as Financing Sources

Bank lending in India grew 16.2% year-on-year through May 15, marking the fastest pace of growth since June 2024 as companies chose bank loans over bonds, owing to their lower borrowing costs, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.Local bond sales over the same period declined 11% to 10.9 trillion rupees. This could be a result of higher sovereign bond yields because of the U.S.-Iran war, which led the yields to rise 38 basis points to 7.04% since the conflict began, the report said.The higher benchmark bond yields have raised corporate borrowing costs, lowering firms' demand for bonds, despite speculations that the Reserve Bank of India will keep its interest rates steady on Friday, it said.Muthoot Microfin (BOM:544055, NSE:MUTHOOTMF) has moved nearly 50% of its funding to bank loans, lowering borrowing costs by roughly 75 basis points, the company's Chief Executive Officer Sadaf Sayeed said in an interview.State-run power transmission firm Power Grid Corporation of India (BOM:532898, NSE:POWERGRID) also secured a credit facility of up to 40 billion rupees from State Bank of India (NSE:SBIN, BOM:500112), the report said.Shares of Power Grid Corporation of India rose nearly 1% in recent trade, while those of State Bank of India added about 2%.(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

BOM:500112BOM:532898BOM:544055NSE:MUTHOOTMFNSE:POWERGRIDNSE:SBIN
International

ANZ Commodity Price Index Rises in May

The ANZ World Commodity Price Index climbed 0.7% month over month in May, with all commodity groups in the index seeing incremental gains, according to a Thursday report from ANZ Research.Over the past year, the index rose 1.3%, with wool jumping more than 75%, aluminum rising over 49%, and beef up more than 25%.Dairy prices slipped 0.1% sequentially during the month and were down over 11% annually, with higher milk powder prices offsetting lower butter prices, per the report. Over the past year, skim milk powder prices were up nearly 26%, while butter prices were down more than 29%.Meanwhile, the meat and fiber index edged 0.4% higher from April. Beef and lamb prices were stabilizing near record-high levels, and wool prices increased 14% month over month. Wool is benefiting from strong demand and low supply, tilting the balance toward higher prices, ANZ said.The horticulture index jumped 3.4% in May, as New Zealand's main produce hit supermarket shelves overseas and early price indications were encouraging.The forestry index was up just 0.6% in the month. In-market log prices jumped roughly 12% since the Middle East conflict started, but these higher prices are going toward higher shipping costs, according to the report.Aluminum prices jumped 1.8% month over month and continued to strengthen due to damaged production facilities in the Persian Gulf, ANZ said. The Middle East accounts for around 8% to 9% of global production, and production out of this region was down 35% from pre-conflict levels.

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