Canadian Stocks Pull Back Off Best Levels But Still Close Higher

(RTTNews) - After showing a strong move to the upside early in the session, Canadian stocks gave back some ground over the course of the trading day on Monday but still closed mostly higher.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 76.82 points or 0.4 percent to 18,457.78 after reaching a high of 18,595.72.

The higher close on the day was partly due to strength among consumer discretionary stocks, with the S&P/TSX Capped Consumer Discretionary Index jumping 1.7 percent.

Real estate, financial, and communication services stocks also showed notable moves to the upside over the course of the session.

On the other hand, gold stocks came under pressure amid a steep drop by the price of the precious metal, dragging the S&P/TSX Capped Gold Index down by 1.2 percent.

Energy stocks also moved lower on the day, as the price of crude oil pulled back sharply after reaching its highest intraday level in over two years.