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Banks take Toronto higher
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November 19, 1998: 12:18 p.m. ET
Financial services rally, as do industrial products, pipelines stocks
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Toronto's stock market ignored Wall Street and Kenneth Starr's televised testimony in the U.S. presidential impeachment hearings to clamber higher Thursday, aided by a surge in the financial-services sector.
The Toronto Stock Exchange 300 Composite Index rose 97.41 points, or 1.54 percent, to close at 6,429.60.
Also fueling enthusiasm was news from Japan that the country's ruling Liberal Democratic Party had announced plans to form a surprise coalition with one of its foes to help it pass much-needed financial reform legislation.
Overall in Toronto, a wide majority of the TSE 300's 14 subindexes closed in positive territory, led for much of the day by a surge in the financial-services sector, which makes up about 25 percent of the overall index. It closed up 2.57 percent.
Industrial products and the pipelines group also kept the exchange on the rise, with gains of 2.59 percent and 2.28 percent respectively.
Bucking the positive trend, however, was the real estate and construction group, which fell 1.10 percent, and the gold and precious metals group, which slipped 0.77 percent after rising 3.3 percent yesterday.
Gaining issues among volume leaders included Canadian Imperial Bank, which rose C$1.05, or 3.35 percent, to C$32.40, and Bank Nova Scotia, which climbed C$0.50, or 1.58 percent, to C$32.10. Industrial products company Newbridge Networks Corp. also saw a rise, climbing C$3.75, or 10.25 percent, to C$40.35.
Declines included supermarket group Provigo, which fell C$0.35, or 2.33 percent, to C$14.65, and oil and gas service and production company Fracmaster, which plummeted C$0.99, or 19.80 percent, to C$4.01.
The picture was mixed on other exchanges in Canada. Stocks in Montreal enjoyed a rise of 61.53 points, or 1.91 percent, to 3,287.32. But shares in Vancouver turned south, closing down 5.16 points, or 1.28 percent, to 396.57. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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