Canada's main stock index edged lower on Wednesday as a drop in gold prices weighed on mining shares and after the Bank of Canada left its policy rate on hold, with the index retreating after it touched its highest intraday level in twenty months.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) fell 8.81 points to 21,025.78, after four consecutive days of gains. Earlier in the session, it touched its highest level since May 2022.
"While the Bank continued to highlight ongoing concern about the risk to the outlook for inflation, the Bank reinforced the more dovish tone struck in December," said Kathrin Forrest, an equity investment specialist at Capital Group.
The TSX has a high proportion of high dividend paying stocks, in sectors such as utilities and real estate, that could particularly benefit from a move to lower rates, say analysts.
The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 1.1% as data showing strong U.S. business activity weighed on the price of gold , with the precious metal falling 0.8%.
The industrial and consumer discretionary sectors both fell 0.5% but energy and financials ended higher.
Financials, the most heavily-weighted sector on the TSX, added 0.4%, while energy rallied 1.6% as the price of oil settled nearly 1% higher at $75.09 a barrel, helped by a bigger-than-expected U.S. crude storage withdrawal.
Tech firm Blackberry Ltd (BB.TO) tumbled 17.9% to hit its lowest closing level since May 2003 after it announced a private offering of $160 million in five-year convertible bonds after the close on Tuesday.
