The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that the S&P/TSX Composite Index closed at a record high of 22,995.39 Tuesday after gaining 243.71 points. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that the Dow Jones Industrial Average also reached an all-time closing high after U.S. retail sales data supported hopes that the Federal Reserve is approaching its easing cycle, reining in inflation while avoiding a recession. The S&P 500 also rose, but weaker megacap growth stocks, led by Nvidia and Microsoft, capped the tech-heavy Nasdaq's gains. Economically sensitive small caps extended their rally. The Russell 2000 scored a fifth straight day of gains greater than 1 per cent, its longest winning streak since April, 2000. Tamer-than-expected Canadian inflation reading for June also had markets betting on monetary policy easing ahead in this country, with swaps markets now pricing in 90-per-cent odds of another Bank of Canada rate cut next week. The Canadian benchmark, which lacks high-flying megacap tech companies, trades at a considerably cheaper level than the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq on a price to earnings basis. Shopify got a boost from BofA Global Research, which upgraded the stock to "buy" from "neutral."
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