The S&P/TSX Composite has clawed back significant ground since bottoming March 23, with Toronto’s benchmark composite rising 30.4 per cent through the end of trading Monday. The index has now recouped about half of the COVID-19 induced losses booked from the record high it hit in late February.

All eleven TSX subgroups are in positive territory over that stretch from late March, led by the materials group with a 44.63 per cent gain, information technology’s 42.96 per cent rise and consumer discretionary’s 39.87 per cent jump.

The materials group has been boosted by the flight to perceived safety of gold and precious metals stocks, which offset some concerns over waning demand for industrial materials like metallurgical coal. All 47 of the subgroup’s constituents are higher since the trough, led by Alacer Gold Corp. and Seabridge Gold Inc.

Shopify a 'momentum play' not a 'power play': RBC analyst

Mark Mahaney, analyst at RBC Capital Markets says investors should manage expectations when it comes to Shopify because a high failure rate for small businesses is going impact e-commerce earnings in the near-term.

In the case of info tech, as goes Shopify Inc., so goes the subgroup. Shares of the ecommerce platform provider have rocketed higher to make the company the second-most valuable stock on the index – trailing only Royal Bank of Canada – and lifting the overall subgroup. While info tech is still a relatively small slice of the index, accounting for seven per cent of the overall weighting, its influence on the movement of the TSX has increased markedly with Shopify’s emergence as a tech darling.

Consumer discretionary – a relative minnow on the overall composite, accounting for only 3.5 per cent of the index weighting – has been lifted by an odd lot of companies. Toymaker Spin Master Corp., recreational vehicle maker BRP Inc. and online gambling firm Stars Group Inc. have been the lead gainers in the group. It should be noted the group is the most eclectic collection of companies on the composite, counting everything from autoparts manufacturers to restaurant operators to online gambling companies among its ranks.

On the stock-specific side, all but four of the TSX constituents are in positive territory from the March lows. Enerflex Ltd., HEXO Corp., Bombardier Inc. and Pason Systems Inc. bucked the trend to post losses.

In terms of adding points to the table, the aforementioned Shopify did much of the heavy lifting, contributing 251 points to the TSX over the course of the rally. Barrick Gold Corp. and Royal Bank of Canada rounded out the top three, contributing 159 and 140 points to the rally, respectively.