REFILE-CANADA STOCKS-Toronto shares at 10-month high on commodities boost, Fed rate cut hopes (Dec 14)
(Corrects inactive index symbol in paragraph 7)
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TSX up 1.0%
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Cenovus Energy gains on upbeat production forecast
By Shashwat Chauhan
Dec 14 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index jumped on Thursday, with materials and energy stocks leading gains as risk-on sentiment flourished a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated it may pivot to rate cuts next year.
At 9:49 a.m. ET (1449 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 199.35 points, or 0.97%, at 20,828.8, touching its highest level since Feb. 2. Wall Street also had an upbeat start to the session.
Energy led gains, rising 1.7% on higher crude oil prices, while the materials sector, which houses Canada's major mining firms, jumped 2.3% as prices of most base and precious metals rallied.
The Fed left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and U.S. central bank chief Jerome Powell said the historic tightening of monetary policy is likely over as inflation falls faster than expected and with a discussion of cuts in borrowing costs coming "into view."
"Whilst Powell did not completely rule out more tightening and the statement was tweaked to add "any" before "additional policy firming", he couldn't be clearer in his press conference by saying that a rate hike "is not the base case anymore" in what was music to markets' ears," said Raffi Boyadjian, lead investment analyst at forex broker XM.
17 of 19 Fed policymakers see rates lower by the end of 2024, and none see them higher.
Rate-sensitive real estate stocks added 2.0%.
On Thursday's data front, Canadian home sales fell 0.9% in November from October, while a separate reading showed U.S. retail sales unexpectedly rose in November.
Among individual stocks, Pembina Pipeline fell 2.2% after the company said it would buy Enbridge's interests in the Alliance Pipeline, Aux Sable and NRGreen joint ventures for C$3.1 billion ($2.30 billion).
Cenovus Energy gained 2.0% after the company said it expects higher production from its U.S. refineries in 2024. (Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru)
