CANADA STOCKS-Energy, tech boosts TSX ahead of BoC decision, U.S. inflation data
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Energy and materials gain on strong commodity prices
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Tech stocks rebound
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TSX up 0.2%
(Updated at 9:56 a.m. ET)
By Siddarth S and Shashwat Chauhan
July 11 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Tuesday, led by gains in energy and information technology stocks, while investors looked forward to U.S. inflation data and the Bank of Canada's (BoC) verdict on monetary policy on Wednesday.
At 9:56 a.m. ET (1356 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 30.95 points, or 0.16%, at 19,853.4.
The BoC's policy meeting will be on the radar as the central bank is widely expected to deliver another 25-basis-point hike on Wednesday after data last week hinted at a robust jobs market.
"We think that tomorrow we're going to see a rate hike," said Angelo Kourkafas, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones.
"But investors likely realize that the BoC is nearing the end of its tightening campaign, so potentially, tomorrow's rate hike could be the last one of the cycle," he said. Wall Street brokerages J.P.Morgan and Citigroup now expect the BoC to hike its lending rate by 25 bps to 5% on Wednesday, while Bank of America expected the Canadian central bank to hold rates steady.
U.S consumer prices data due on Wednesday will be keenly watched amid recent hopes that the Fed's rate hikes are almost at an end.
Technology stocks rebounded to gain 0.5% as Shopify rose over 1% after announcing a partnership with U.S. streaming device maker Roku.
Energy shares climbed 0.8% on higher crude prices as traders weighed supply cuts by the world's biggest oil exporters.
The materials sector, which includes the country's major miners, gained 0.3% as prices of most industrial metals were on the rise on a softer dollar.
Shares of TransAlta Corp fell 5.64%, hitting its lowest level in over three months after the Canadian electric utility firm said it will buy the rest of the stake it does not own in TransAlta Renewables Inc, in a cash-and-stock deal valued at C$1.38 billion ($1.04 billion).
Shares of TransAlta Renewables soared 17.8% to the top of the TSX. ($1 = 1.3269 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Siddarth S and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Pooja Desai)
