CANADA STOCKS-Toronto shares decline as miners fall at start of cen.bank focused week
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Materials lead declines
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BlackBerry down on shelving IPO plans for IoT business, CEO change
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TSX down 0.4%
(Updated at 9:38 a.m. ET/ 1438 GMT)
By Shashwat Chauhan
Dec 11 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell in broad-based declines on Monday with materials leading the selloff, while investors awaited a raft of economic data and decisions from major central banks due later in the week.
At 9:38 a.m. ET (1438 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 89.72 points, or 0.44%, at 20,241.82. Wall Street, on the other hand, had a subdued start to the day.
The materials sector, which houses Canada's major mining firms, fell 1.5% as prices of most base metals dropped after data showed China's consumer prices fell the fastest in three years in November. A firmer dollar pressured gold prices.
Globally, investors turned their focus on major central banks as the Bank of England, the U.S. Federal Reserve, and the European Central Bank are due to announce their monetary policy decisions during the week.
All three central banks are expected to hold rates at current levels.
"We expect the Fed to downplay the possibility of rate cuts in 2024 in its commentary on Wednesday," said Greg Marcus, managing director at UBS Private Wealth Management.
"The stock market's recent strength is largely based on expectations of a soft landing and rates coming down in 2024. While this soft landing scenario is entirely possible, it is far from certain."
More data gauging inflation in the United States, including November consumer prices, would be on the investors' watchlist ahead of the Fed's rate decision.
Among individual stocks, BlackBerry dipped 2.1% after the company shelved a plan to spin off its Internet of Things (IoT) business. The technology company also appointed the head of its cybersecurity unit, John Giamatteo, as chief executive officer.
Gildan Activewear slid 11% after the company announced leadership changes. (Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)
