(Updates with analyst comment, market open prices)
Aug 27 (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index hit a fresh record high on Wednesday as investors cheered strong quarterly results from top domestic lenders, including Royal Bank of Canada.
At 09:48 a.m. ET (1348 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.23% at 28,403.82 points, edging past Friday’s intraday record climb.
RBC topped analysts’ profit estimates as it set aside smaller-than-expected loan loss provisions that included releases in its wealth management segment.
Its shares jumped 5.3%, helping lift the financial index , with 32% weighting on TSX, by 1.1% in early trading.
“A big part of our stock market is banks and financials, and so the market’s been reacting positively to that,” said Devin Cattelan, portfolio manager at Verecan Capital Management.
Peers Bank of Montreal and Bank of Nova Scotia have also benefited from smaller provisions on…
