Toronto market ends higher as tech shares climb
By Purvi Agarwal and Fergal Smith
(Reuters) -Canada's main stock index edged higher on Wednesday, boosted by gains for technology and consumer related stocks, as investors awaited U.S. inflation data this week for clues on the prospects of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended up 18.44 points, or 0.1%, at 20,989.42 but holding below the 20-month high it posted on Monday at 21,074.91.
Wall Street's main indexes also rose but gains were limited ahead of the U.S. consumer price index report on Thursday and major bank earnings later in the week.
Investors are betting on a slowdown in inflation to allow central banks to pivot to interest rate cuts.
Rate cuts may start later than markets expect but we are still likely to see policy easing from the Fed and the Bank of Canada "in the back half of the year," said Angelo Kourkafas, a senior investment strategist at Edward Jones.
The Toronto market's technology sector rose 1.2%, adding to its recent gains, while consumer staples was up 0.8%.
Energy shares were a drag, falling 0.9%, as the price of oil settled 1.2% lower at $71.37 a barrel after a surprise jump in U.S. crude stockpiles raised worries about demand in the largest oil market.
Heavily-weighted financials also lost ground, ending down 0.4%.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and by Purvi Agarwal and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Ravi Prakash Kumar and Alistair Bell)
