The Canadian market concluded Monday's session with a modest uptick, buoyed by gains in the consumer staples, technology, and energy sectors. In the absence of significant catalysts, trading activity remained relatively subdued throughout much of the day.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index edged up by 27.34 points, or 0.11%, to close at 23,894.71, marking a new closing high. The index set a new intraday record of 23,961.44 around mid-morning before subsequently paring gains.
Notable gainers included Enghouse Systems (ENGH.TO), Cameco Corporation (CCO.TO), Capital Power Corporation (CPX.TO), Imperial Oil (IMO.TO), Atkins Realis Group (ATRL.TO), George Weston (WN.TO), Loblaw Companies (L.TO), Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), and TC Energy Corporation (TRP.TO), with increases ranging from 1.3% to 3.3%.
Conversely, Bausch + Lomb Corporation (BLCO.TO), Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO), and Precision Drilling Corporation (PD.TO) saw declines of 4.6%, 2.8%, and 2.4%, respectively.
Other notable decliners included Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO), Stella-Jones (SJ.TO), BRP Inc (DOO.TO), Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV.TO), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO), and Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO).
On the economic front, data from Statistics Canada revealed that new home prices in Canada remained unchanged month-over-month in August 2024, contrary to market expectations of a 0.1% increase. This follows a 0.2% rise in the previous month.
The House Price Index in Canada also remained unchanged year-over-year in August 2024, following a 0.1% increase in July 2024. Historically, the House Price Index YoY in Canada has averaged 2.8% from 1982 until 2024, hitting a peak of 16.5% in March 1989 and a record low of -9.7% in February 1991.