Gold Helps Canada’s Stocks Benchmark Outshine the S&P 500

Despite ongoing trade tensions and a weakening economy, Canada’s main stocks benchmark outshone its US counterpart in the first half thanks to a record-breaking gold rally.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 8.6% for the year to June 30, higher than the S&P 500’s 5.5% advance over the same period. In US-dollar terms, the Toronto index was up 15%, mirroring the gains of other gold-heavy world indexes.