04:15 PM EST, 11/11/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange closed higher on Monday, rising to another record high in Remembrance Day trading.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 29.88 points to 24,789.28, topping the Nov.7 record of 24, 845.93. Information Technology, up 1.86%, and Financials, up 0.90%) were sectors posing the biggest gains, while Battery Metals, down 3.79% with Base Metals down 1.93%, the biggest decliner.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed sharply lower for a second-straight session as China again reported its economy continues to sputter despite fresh stimulus measures introduced last week, while the dollar continued its post-election rally. WTI crude oil for December delivery closed down US$2.34 to settle at US$68.04 per barrel, while January Brent crude, the global benchmark, closed down US$2.04 to US$71.83.

Gold fell to a near two-month low late afternoon on Monday as the dollar continued to rally following Donald Trump's win in the U.S. presidential election. Gold for December delivery was last seen down US$65.40 to US$2,629.40 per ounce, the lowest since Sept.19.

Despite the high levels on the TSX, Rosenberg Research in a note said its equity model score for the market here had decreased to 33.7 from 45.4. This, it said, marks a reading on the low end of neutral after a 15% run-up from June, when it first turned more positive on the TSX. "Unsurprisingly," Rosenberg added, "the decline in scores is a direct result of an overbought technical backdrop (contrarian negative) and elevated, but not stretched, valuations as the TSX scales record highs. Notably, fundamental readings in our model are among the highest since December and liquidity remains supportive on the back of accelerated BoC easing."

At the sector level, Rosenberg's top rankings included a "somewhat" mixed bag of commodity exposure (Materials, which includes the gold miners, and Energy both tied for #3) and defensive/rate-sensitives (Health Care at #1, Financials #2, and Technology also tied for #3).

Meanwhile, the commodity model score inched lower to 66.6 in October from 74.7 prior. This, the research said, marks a shift to the upper-end of 'neutral' from 'overweight' but is far from a sell signal. It noted commodities, broadly speaking, remain 5% above their nearby lows when Rosenberg's model hit a seven-month high model score back in August. "Despite this move, our models are flagging continued excessive pessimism embedded in basement-level valuations, and the asset class is under-owned (contrarian positives). The near-term is clouded by a post-election dollar rally (higher U.S. dollar weighs on prices), though Strategizer's long-term dollar outlook is supportive."

On an individual commodity basis, the research noted, natural gas is the lone energy-related top ranking, joining aluminum, corn, and sugar as favored CRB Commodity Index components in Rosenberg models. The research said WTI crude did experience an improvement, but remains in the middle of the rankings. It noted "crosswinds between light investor positioning and bearish sentiment (contrarian negatives) and a further easing in the supply-demand backdrop are at play."

For gold specifically, its model inched higher to 20.5 from 20.3 but continues to hover among the lowest readings since April 2022. Strategizer has been flagging rising odds of a consolidation period and a potential pause in the gold trade on the back of over-extended technicals. For example, it noted, the 14-week RSI hit a 99th percentile reading of 82 -- well into overbought territory. Combined with crowded positioning (contrarian negatives), risks of a reversal are elevated, the research said.

"The long-term secular story remains intact, but after a 50%+ run-up from when Strategizer first turned bullish one year ago, taking some chips off the table after a significant rally may be a prudent move until our model flags a better entry point ahead," it added.