CANADA STOCKS-Toronto shares fall as miners weigh, rate cut optimism fades
*
TSX falls for second day, down 0.35%
*
Fed minutes due at 1900 GMT
*
Materials sector leads declines as metal prices drop
*
Suncor gains as it sees record Q4 oil production
(Updated at 10:08 a.m. ET/ 1508 GMT)
By Amruta Khandekar and Purvi Agarwal
Jan 3 (Reuters) - Canada's resources-heavy main stock index was dragged down on Wednesday by a drop in mining shares as prices of precious metals declined while investors awaited minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest meeting for cues on interest rate cuts.
At 10:08 a.m. ET (1508 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 72.25 points, or 0.35%, at 20,799.89.
A scorching rally in global equities in the last two months of 2023 faltered at the start of the new year as investors pared back bets of early rate cuts from the Fed and escalating tensions in the Middle East sapped risk appetite.
Wall Street pared some declines after data showed lower-than-expected job openings in November, hinting at a softening labor market.
"We continue to see a normalizing of U.S. labor markets. That further propels the central bank's ability to cut rates," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth.
Minutes from the Fed's December meeting due at 1400 ET (1900 GMT) would offer further clarity on the monetary policy path.
Meanwhile, traders are pricing in 43% odds of a rate cut of at least 25 basis points by the Bank of Canada in March.
The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, dropped 1.3% as a stronger dollar pushed gold and copper prices to a near two-week low.
The technology sector, which posted its biggest one-day percentage drop in more than three months on Tuesday, fell 0.7%. Healthcare fell over 1%.
Energy shares outperformed the broader market, gaining 1.4% as crude prices rose.
Suncor Energy climbed 4.0% after the energy firm said it saw record upstream production in the fourth quarter.
Orea Mining dropped 25% after the company announced expected delay in filing annual audited financial statements. (Reporting by Amruta Khandekar and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Shilpi Majumdar)
