TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index pushed to a record high Wednesday as the price of oil spiked, while U.S. markets closed down despite trading higher earlier in the day and inflation data coming in lower than expected.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 97.85 points at 26,524.16, helped especially by energy stocks, but the day’s gains are also part of a wider trend of investors returning to the Canadian market, said Stephen Duench, portfolio manager at AGF Investments Inc.
“The TSX just keeps on trudging higher, and I think the secret’s out that Canada is investable again,” he said.
“If you actually look at the breadth of what’s working in the TSX, you know, if you really look under the hood within Canada, the stock market has been extremely healthy.”
Progress on tariff talk, including easing tensions between the U.S. and China, as well as the lower inflation data out of the U.S., also helped ease market fears,…
