* TSX ends down 0.1% at 21,531.07
* Energy falls 1.2%; oil settles 1.5% lower
* Materials sector rallies 2.1%
* Gold climbs to 3-month high
March 4 (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index edged
lower on Monday, weighed by declines for energy shares, as
investors turned cautious ahead of U.S. and Canadian jobs data
as well as a Bank of Canada interest rate decision this week.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index
ended down 21.28 points, or 0.1%, at 21,531.07, after
posting on Friday its highest closing level since April 2022.
The Canadian central bank is widely expected to leave its
benchmark rate on hold at a 22-year high of 5% on Wednesday.
Investors may look to the rate decision “for hints on when
or if interest rate cuts may be coming,” Colin Cieszynski, chief
market strategist at SIA Wealth Management, said in a note.
U.S. and Canadian jobs data, due on Friday, could also move
the market this week, Cieszynski said.
The energy sector fell 1.2% as oil settled 1.5% lower
at $78.74 a barrel, giving back some recent gains.
The consumer staples sector was also a drag, falling 1.3%,
but the materials sector, which includes which includes precious
and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, was up 2.1%.
Helping the materials sector, the price of gold
climbed to a three-month high, driven by increased bets for a
June interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Purvi Agarwal in
Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Alistair Bell)
Read More: Toronto market ends lower as energy shares fall – 2024-03-04