The Canadian market extended gains to a fourth straight session and posted new record highs on Monday, with stocks from healthcare, technology and energy sectors moving higher.
Several stocks from consumer discretionary, financials and industrials sectors too posted impressive gains.
After opening modestly higher and moving in a tight range till noon, stocks gained in strength gradually and eventually closed on a firm note.
Investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserves monetary policy announcement, and the data on Canadian inflation.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 133.42 points or 0.57% at 23,702.07, a new closing high. The index hit a new record intraday high at 23,721.61.
In economic news, data from Statistics Canada showed that Canadian manufacturing sales increased 1.4% over a month to $71.0 billion in July, compared to an earlier reading of 1.1%, and following a revised 1.7% drop in the prior month.
Another report from Statistics Canada showed car registrations in the country increased to 168,791 units in July from 166,120 units in June.
Bausch + Lomb Corporation (BLCO.TO) shares zoomed nearly 14%.
Stantec (STN.TO), Molson Coors Canada Inc (TPX.B.TO), Dollarama Inc (DOL.TO), Brookfield Wealth Solutions (BNT.TO), Bombardier (BBD.A.TO), Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO), Constellation Software (CSU.TO), Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO), West Fraser Timber (WFG.TO) and Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) gained 1.5 to 2.5%.
Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), Toromont Industries (TIH.TO) and TFI International (TFII.TO) also closed with strong gains.
Softchoice Corporation (SFTC.TO) ended down 5.6%. BRP Inc (DOO.TO) closed lower by about 3.4%. Ero Copper (ERO.TO), BCE Inc (BCE.TO) and Tecsys Inc (TCS.TO) closed lower by 2.8 to 3%.