Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index Reached Record Closing High

(RTTNews) - Extending the upward trend seen over the past several sessions, Canadian stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 205.03 points or 0.8 percent to 25,897.48, closing higher for the eighth straight day and reached a record closing high.

Canadian stocks continued to benefit from recent upward momentum, which comes amid easing trade concerns after the U.S. announced trade deals with the U.K. and China.

Gold stocks helped lead the way higher amid a rebound by the price of the precious metal, driving the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index up by 2.2 percent.

Considerable strength was also visible among industrial stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 gain posted by the S&P/TSX Capped Industrial Index

Consumer staples, commercial real estate and telecom stocks also saw significant strength, while energy stocks bucked the uptrend amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil.

On the economic front, Statistics Canada released a report showing Canadian manufacturing sales declined 1.4 percent in March, mainly due to lower sales in the primary metal and petroleum and coal product subsectors.