Toronto market climbs to record high, led by gold miners

By Fergal Smith

(Reuters) -Canada's main stock index rose to a record high on Thursday as higher gold prices boosted metal mining shares and investors grew confident of a "soft landing" for the economy.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended up 263.97 points, or 1.1%, at 23,475.14, moving past the record closing high it posted on Aug. 26.

"The TSX is firing on all cylinders today," said Elvis Picardo, a portfolio manager at Luft Financial, iA Private Wealth.

"The materials group is leading the charge ... led by the precious metals miners. I think investors are finally waking up to this stealth rally in gold and silver."

The price of gold rose 1.8%, increasing its gain since the beginning of the year to 24%, while the materials sector, which includes metal mining shares and fertilizer companies, jumped 4.1%.

"We have seen concerted buying both sides of the border this week. That would indicate that investors are quite confident about the U.S. soft landing scenario playing out," Picardo said.

Wall Street's main indexes also rose ahead of the expected start of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts next week.

All ten major sectors on the TSX ended higher, with industrials adding 1.1% and energy up 0.8%.

U.S. crude futures settled 2.5% higher at $68.97 a barrel as producers assessed the impact on output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Francine tore through offshore oil-producing areas.

Air Canada said that the federal Canadian government should be prepared to intervene to prevent a looming pilots' strike that the carrier said could cause disruption for weeks to come. Shares of the airline rose 1.9%.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Nikhil Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas and Marguerita Choy)