New York: Canadian stocks slipped in a muted conclusion to a year that saw the S&P/TSX Composite Index rally more than any other developed market.
The gauge fell 0.9 percent to 15,287.59 at 4pm in Toronto on the last trading day of the year after a rally that has propelled the benchmark index to its sixth straight monthly advance. Weakness in material and energy shares offset gains in health care.
Canadian equities rose 18 percent in 2016, the biggest increase since 2009. The index now sits less than 3 percent from a record reached in September 2014. The S&P/TSX’s world-beating advance marks a reversal for the index, which slipped 11 percent in 2015 for its worst annual decline since 2008.
Looking ahead to 2017, the question becomes whether the torrid climb has left valuations overextended. To analysts like David Rosenberg of Gluskin Sheff & Associates Inc, elevated stock prices mean investors must be more selective about which industries to own.
