TORONTO, March 15 (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index edged higher on Tuesday, rebounding from a two-week low intraday, as data showing that U.S. producer prices were not as hot as expected last month boosted investor sentiment ahead of a Federal Reserve interest rate decision.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) ended up 7.06 points, or 0.03%, at 21,187.84, after touching its lowest level since March 1 earlier in the day at 20,971.11.
Despite the war in Ukraine, “the biggest driver of sentiment still seems to be what the Fed will do,” said Elvis Picardo, a portfolio manager at Luft Financial, iA Private Wealth.
“The inflation numbers that came out of the U.S. were a little bit muted.”
U.S. stocks rallied as another drop in oil prices and a softer-than-expected reading on producer prices helped ease inflation fears among investors, with the focus turning to the Fed’s policy announcement on Wednesday. read more
Among the sectors that have been most threatened by higher interest rates is technology. The Toronto market’s tech sector ended 2.2% higher, led by a 7.6% advance for e-commerce company Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO).
The energy group, in contrast, fell for a second day, giving back some recent gains. It ended 1.8% lower as oil tumbled to its lowest level in almost three weeks on easing supply disruption fears and concern that surging COVID-19 cases in China would slow demand.
U.S. crude prices settled 6.4% lower at $96.44 a barrel.
The Toronto market has outperformed many other global benchmarks this year, helped by its heavy weighting in resource shares. read more
“I think it’s still in a good space,” Picardo said. “The fact that it has got this big weight compared to most indices in something that the world wants, and the fact it is a more secure producer than most parts of the world.”
Reporting by Fergal Smith; Additional reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; editing by Mark Heinrich
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Source: Reuters
