TORONTO -- Canada's largest stock market rose for a sixth straight day, climbing to a new record, as bank stocks rallied on both sides of the border after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled it remains committed to hiking interest rates.
In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index advanced 29.45 points to 15,786.03, with financials and energy stocks chalking up big gains.
Wall Street indices also rose to record levels again, with the Dow Jones industrial average jumping 92.25 points to 20,504.41, the S&P 500 adding 9.33 points to 2,337.58 and the Nasdaq composite rising by 18.61 points to 5,782.57.
Earlier in the day, Fed chair Janet Yellen testified before a Senate committee that the U.S. central bank is ready to gradually raise rates if the job market continues to strengthen and inflation rises.
In commodities, the March crude contract rose 27 cents at US$53.20 per barrel and April gold shed 40 cents at US$1,225.40 an ounce.
The oil-sensitive loonie gained 0.03 of a U.S. cent at 76.51 cents US.
March natural gas fell four cents at US$2.91 per mmBTU and March copper contracts shed about five cents to US$2.74 a pound.
