TSX hits record closing high as rising Middle East tensions boost oil prices

By Fergal Smith

(Reuters) -Canada's commodity-linked main stock index inched up to a record closing high on Tuesday, adding to blockbuster third-quarter gains, as resource shares benefited from higher oil and gold prices after an escalation in the Middle East conflict.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended up 33.62 points, or 0.1%, at 24,033.99, slightly eclipsing the record closing high it posted on Thursday.

"With some of the concerns in the Middle East and the strength in oil and the commodities, the TSX did well versus some of the other peers," said Greg Taylor, a portfolio manager at Purpose Investments.

U.S. stocks fell as investors grew more cautious after Iran fired missiles at Israel.

The TSX's energy sector climbed 3.4% as oil settled 2.4% higher at $69.83 a barrel. Gold, a traditional safe haven, also rose, helping to lift metal mining shares.

The materials sector, which includes metal miners and fertilizer companies, added 1%. All the other major sectors lost ground, with technology falling 1.6% and industrials ending 0.8% lower.

The Toronto market climbed 9.7% in the third quarter, its biggest quarterly gain in four years, as gold soared to record highs and major central banks, such as the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada, cut interest rates.

Lower borrowing costs boosted domestic manufacturing activity in September. The S&P Global Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index increased to 50.4 from 49.5 in August, its first move above the 50.0 no-change mark since April 2023.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Lisa Mattackal in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo and Lisa Shumaker)