CANADA STOCKS-TSX hits one-week high on materials boost; BoC rate decision in focus
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TSX rose 0.5%
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Material stocks top gainer
(Updated at 10:17 a.m. ET/ 1517 GMT)
By Purvi Agarwal and Khushi Singh
Jan 23 (Reuters) -
Canada stocks hit a one-week high on Tuesday, boosted by gains in mining stocks due to rising metal prices, with investors keeping a close eye on the Bank of Canada's Wednesday meeting for insights into the future path of its monetary policy.
At 10:17 a.m. ET (15:17 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 110.37 points, or 0.53%, at 21,034.67.
The benchmark index has risen marginally this year as investors scaled back on expectations of early rate cuts by the Bank of Canada, exacerbated after December data showed that inflation continued to be sticky.
Mining-related stocks boosted the materials sector that rose 1.6% after commodity prices rebounded on a weaker dollar and on hopes of more stimulus measures from top consumer China.
The focus will be on Bank of Canada's monetary policy decision on Wednesday as investors await clues on the timing of interest rate cuts.
"Our official call is for the bank to start cutting interest rates at the June meeting. Financial markets are now slightly leaning towards that as being the most likely starting point, although April is also seen as a close call," said Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets.
"There's a risk that the BoC might be a little bit more patient and wait until the second half of the year."
Analysts at Bank of America Global Research expect the central bank to start cutting rates in June, as core inflation remains "too sticky and far from showing a downward trend".
Among individual stocks, Gold producer IAMGOLD Corp soared 13.5% to become the top gainer, after the company reported its fourth-quarter production figures on Monday.
Recreational products company BRP slid 4.1% after it announced a bought deal secondary offering with RBC Capital Markets. (Reporting by Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Ravi Prakash Kumar)
