Canadian Stocks Inch Up To New Record Closing High

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Monday but managed to end the day slightly higher.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index crept up 19.30 points or 0.1 percent to a new record closing high of 20,157.65.

Traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

The Fed is widely expected to leave its monetary policy unchanged, but traders will be looking for any clues the central bank is considering tapering its asset purchases.

The uptick by the S&P/TSX Composite Index was partly due to strength in the technology sector, with the S&P/TSX Capped Technology Index jumping by 2.2 percent.

Reflecting strength in tech stocks in the U.S., the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the session at a new record closing high.

On the other hand, health care stocks showed a significant move to the downside, dragging the S&P/TSX Capped Health Care Index down by 2.2 percent.

Statistics Canada released a report before the start of trading showing Canadian manufacturing sales tumbled by 2.1 percent in April after spiking by 4.0 percent in March.

The pullback was largely attributable to the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts industries, which reduced or shut down production because of the ongoing shortage of semiconductor chips.