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TSX ends up 0.3% at 23,116.39

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Posts eighth straight day of gains

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Moves past record closing high set in July

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Materials sector leads gains

(Updates at market close)

By Fergal Smith

Aug 19 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose to an

all-time high on Monday, helped by gains for financial and metal

mining shares, as investors awaited potential clues this week

that the Federal Reserve could soon begin an interest rate

cutting campaign.

The S&P/TSX composite index ended up 61.78 points,

or 0.3%, at 23,116.39, moving past the record closing high it

set on July 31.

It was the eighth consecutive day of gains for the index,

the longest such streak since April 2023.

"Big picture is the perception that the Fed will cut

interest rates," said Lorne Steinberg, president of Lorne

Steinberg Wealth Management. "That is underpinning everything.

This is not just a Canadian story."

U.S. stocks also added to their recent gains. Fed Chair

Jerome Powell's remarks at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium,

due on Friday, will be parsed for clues regarding the central

bank's path from restrictive to neutral monetary policy.

Bank and energy pipeline stocks could particularly benefit

from lower interest rates, Steinberg said, adding "the dividends

are sustainable, the valuations are reasonable and lower

interest rates means the dividends are more attractive."

Heavily weighted financials added 0.3%, while the materials

group, which includes metal miners and fertilizer companies, was

up 1.4%, helped by gold's recent move to a record high.

Shares of Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc ( ANCTF ) fell 2.2%

after the company sounded out Japan's Seven & i ( SVNDF ) about a

potential takeover.

Energy was also a drag, falling 0.5%, as the price of oil

settled nearly 3% lower at $74.37 a barrel.

Canada's freight rail network could come to a grinding halt

this week after Canadian National Railway ( CNI ) and Canadian

Pacific Kansas City ( CP ) on Sunday issued lockout notices to

the Teamsters union, which represents nearly 10,000 workers.

Shares of both railroads ended higher.