CANADA STOCKS-TSX eyes fourth straight weekly advance on tech, healthcare boost

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TSX up 0.1%, nears two-year high

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Healthcare, tech lead gains

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First Quantum Minerals up on MS upgrade

(Updated at 10:29 a.m. ET/ 1529 GMT)

By Purvi Agarwal

March 8 (Reuters) - Canada's main index is on track for its fourth straight weekly rise, with technology stocks among the top gainers as moderating wage growth data both at home and in the United States fueled rate cut expectations by the central banks this year.

At 10:29 a.m. ET (1529 GMT) on Friday, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 21.18 points, or 0.1%, at 21,815.74, hitting its highest intraday level since April 2022.

Wall Street also had an upbeat start to the day after a monthly U.S. jobs data showed a rise in the unemployment rate and moderation in wage gains, boosting expectations of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in the middle of this year.

"It is a positive that the unemployment rate is actually moving up. We get a little bit of slack, that will help cool wage inflation and rate cuts will be on the cards," said Scott Blair, chief investment officer at CWB Wealth.

Back home, wage growth slowed for a second consecutive month in February and the jobless rate ticked up to 5.8%.

"Unemployment ticked up, but the average hourly wages ticked down in February and that's something the Bank of Canada really wants to see," Blair said.

Technology shares gained 0.8% on the TSX, with rising bitcoin miners Bitfarms and Hut 8 gaining 14.6% and 8.1%, respectively.

Healthcare stocks also gained 1.5%, driven by a 5.9% advance in pot firm Tilray Brands.

The materials sector is set to outpace its sectoral peers this week, while telecom was the worst-hit during the period.

Company-wise, shares of miner First Quantum Minerals climbed 3.6% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to "overweight" from "equal-weight". (Reporting by Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)