TSX climbs 200.44 points, Wall Street hits records

North American stock markets rose sharply Wednesday, driven largely by optimism from a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump in which he reaffirmed plans in front of Congress to spur economic growth and cut taxes.

In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index climbed 200.44 points, or 1.3 per cent, at 15,599.68 — lifted higher by gains in the metals, materials and industrials sectors. It’s the largest one-day advance registered by the commodity-heavy TSX in nearly 10 months.

Meanwhile, south of the border, all three major Wall Street indexes finished at record highs.

The Dow Jones industrial average surpassed the 21,000 mark for the first time ever, finishing up 303.31 points at 21,115.55. The last time the blue-chip index climbed more than 300 points in one session was on Nov. 7, a day before the U.S. election.

The S&P 500 advanced 32.32 points at 2,395.96 and the Nasdaq composite gained 78.59 points at 5,904.03.

Steve Belisle, managing director at Manulife Asset Management, said the strength in the Canadian metals, materials and industrials sectors has been helped by new data indicating signs of economic growth in both the U.S. and China.

“What the surveys are showing is that industrial production should accelerate materially from here and that is good for all commodities and industrial companies,” he said from Montreal.

The Institute for Supply Management reported Wednesday that U.S. factories grew last month at the fastest pace in more than two years.

Its manufacturing index came in at 56.0 in January, up from 54.5 in December and the highest since November 2014’s 57.6. Anything above 50 signals growth.

U.S. manufacturing has now grown for five straight months and for 10 of the last 11 months.

On Tuesday, two surveys also showed that China’s factory activity picked up pace last month, adding to recent evidence that a key sector of the world’s No. 2 economy is stabilizing.

The rally comes as investors found solace for the markets’ recent gains in the past few months following Trump’s speech Tuesday night before U.S. Congress.

His promises have helped send U.S. stock benchmarks to records, but Trump offered little by way of detail.