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TSX Closer: The Index Rises to Another Record Close As Energy Rallies on Middle East Oil Supply Concerns

4:38 PM ET 03/02/2026 - MT Newswires

The resources-heavy S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 201.28 points, or 0.59%, to 34,541.27, topping the prior record close of 34,501.96 set of Feb.26.

Sectors mixed over Monday's session. Energy led the gainers, up 1.8%, followed by Industrials, up 1.22%, Telecom, up 0.97%, Financials up 0.54%, Healthcare led decliners, down 1.13%, while Info Tech was down near 0.65%.

Gold traded higher Monday as investors sought hard assets following the escalation of violence in the Middle East, though prices pulled back from early record levels. Gold for April delivery was last seen up US$105.60 to US$5,353.50 per ounce, just under Jan. 29 record close of US$5,354.80.

The rise comes as oil prices surged sharply after the United States and Israel launched widespread airstrikes on Iran, prompting retaliatory attacks across the region and raising concerns about supply disruptions. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for roughly a fifth of global oil exports, was halted, marking one of the most significant supply shocks in years. WTI oil for April delivery closed up US$4.21 to settle at US$72.40 per barrel, the highest since June 20, while May Brent oil was last seen up US$4.71 to US$77.18.

According to Scotiabank, as a net energy exporter, Canada benefits from an improvement in its terms of trade when oil prices rise. Energy sector profits and investment rise, supporting employment and eventually household spending, the lender said in a note on Monday. However, these gains are partly offset by a squeeze on real disposable income; higher gasoline prices act as a regressive tax, reducing discretionary purchasing power, it added.

"We have to recognize the strategic importance and the historic importance of what's happened just in the last 24 hours," Bloomberg quoted Eric Nuttall, senior portfolio manager at Ninepoint Partners, as saying.

"We're finding the very best opportunities remain in Canada ... We are gifted with decades worth of inventory in the oil sands, in the Clearwater, in different places, and we don't think that equity prices are reflective of where we think oil is either trading now or is going in the years to come," Nuttall said.

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), designed to provide an overview of the health of the manufacturing sector, registered 51.0 in February, up from 50.4 in January and slightly above the crucial 50.0 no-change threshold, said S&P Global on Monday. The latest reading was the highest since January 2025. Any reading over 50 implies growth in the sector.

The rate of job creation edged up since January and was the strongest for 13 months, pointed out S&P Global. February data indicated a sharp rise in purchasing costs, with many firms noting higher prices paid for aluminum and steel. Canadian manufacturers were upbeat about their overall prospects for output growth during the next 12 months, added S&P Global.

Bank of Canada's Deputy Governor Sharon Kozicki also delivered a speech in Oslo, Norway, at the Norges Bank Monetary Policy Mandate Conference. She said flexible inflation targeting has served the economy well in good times and bad and that the central bank is prepared to renew the monetary framework.