* TSX ends up 100.72 points, or 0.5%, at 21,556.54
* Cannabis stocks are top five gainers on index
* Energy, materials sectors up 1.2%
Nov 8 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index closed at a
record for the third straight day on Monday, with cannabis
stocks leading the charge on a report of a U.S. Republican-led
marijuana legalization bill, and the Congressional passage of a
$1 trillion U.S. infrastructure bill also lifting sentiment.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
closed up 100.72 points, or 0.5%, at 21,556.54, a
record closing level.
"If there is some talk about (cannabis) legalization out of
the U.S... any positive news on legalization and more usage," is
a good thing, said Allan Small, senior investment adviser at
Allan Small Financial Group with HollisWealth.
"The infrastructure bill, passing that is big... and the
U.S. border opening up is a positive," he added.
The five biggest gainers on the Toronto benchmark were
cannabis stocks Cronos Group, Tilray Inc
, Canopy Growth , Aurora Cannabis
and OrganiGram Holdings.
Cannabis news website Marijuana Moment reported https://www.marijuanamoment.net/republican-led-bill-to-legalize-and-tax-marijuana-emerges-as-alternative-to-democratic-measures
Friday that a preliminary Republican-led bill to legalize and
tax cannabis was being circulated, with a final version expected
to be filed later this month.
The healthcare sector, which includes cannabis stocks,
surged 8%.
The passage on Friday of a long-delayed $1 trillion
infrastructure bill by the U.S. House of Representatives also
boosted sentiment globally, with Canada expected to be among the
beneficiaries of the resulting increase in demand for
materials.
This also lifted oil prices globally on expectations that
the infrastructure push will boost fuel demand.
U.S. crude prices were 1.2% higher at $82.22 a
barrel.
The Canadian energy sector and the materials group, which
includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer
companies, both also added 1.2%.
Gold futures rose 0.5% to $1,825.9 an ounce.
Sun Life Financial said it would resume dividend
increases after the regulator lifted a pandemic-era moratorium
on capital distributions. Its shares rose 1.1%.
(Reporting by Nichola Saminather in Toronto; Editing by David
Gregorio)