04:21 PM EDT, 07/02/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange eked out its second-straight record high on Wednesday, as investors returned from the Canada Day holiday and bid up commodity issues on rising prices.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 12.55 points to close at 26,869.66, topping the prior record close of 26,857.12 struck Monday. Among sectors, Base Metals and Telecoms were the biggest gainers, up 3.6% and 2.6%, respectively, along with Health Care, up 1.8%. Information Technology was the biggest decliner, down 0.6%.

In a Tuesday note, Sohrab Movahedi, Managing Director, Financials Research at BMO Capital Markets, said that in the first half of 2025, Canadian bank stocks outperformed the broader S&P/TSX Composite Index by 136 basis points. Historically, when Canadian banks have outperformed the market in the first half of the year, they have gone on to beat it for the full year 96% of the time.

All six major Canadian banks delivered positive total returns in early 2025, and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) was the top performer, with a total return of 34.4%, beating both the overall market and the Canadian bank index, the note said.

"We reiterate our view of limited re-rating opportunities at the Canadian banks and expect the higher return-on-equity banks, namely National Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, to retain their relative valuation gains for the foreseeable future," Movahedi added.

Of commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed higher on Wednesday, even as a report showed an unexpected rise in U.S. inventories last week and OPEC+ added another large tranche of new supply to the market. WTI crude oil for August delivery closed up $2.00 to settle at US$67.45 per barrel, while September Brent crude was last seen up $2.02 to US$69.13.

Gold went higher for a third-straight session late afternoon on Wednesday, as the dollar edged down. This came a day after touching the lowest in more than three years amid worries over rising U.S. fiscal deficits after the Senate passed a controversial budget bill and a report showed an unexpected drop in U.S. private-sector hiring last month. Gold for August delivery was last seen up $19.20 to US$3.369.00 per ounce.