Canada Stocks: Toronto market falls by most in 4 weeks as BoC turns more hawkish

iA

27/10/2021 21:21

(Adds investor quotes and details throughout, updates prices)
    * TSX ends down 218.46 points, or 1%, at 20,954.99
    * Bank of Canada signals earlier start to rate hikes
    * Oil settles 2.4% lower
    * Energy declines 2.6%; technology ends 1.8% lower 

    By Fergal Smith
    TORONTO, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell
on Wednesday as oil prices declined and the Bank of Canada
signaled it could raise interest rates sooner than previously
thought, with the index extending its pullback from a record
high.
    The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
 .GSPTSE  ended down 218.46 points, or 1%, at 20,954.99, its
biggest decline since Sept. 28.
    The index also fell on Tuesday, ending a winning streak of
14 trading days, its longest in Reuters data going back to 1979.
On Monday, it notched a record closing high of 21,284.84.
    "A pretty potent combination of factors" weighed on the TSX
on Wednesday, including lower oil prices, a mixed reaction to
U.S. corporate earnings and the Bank of Canada policy
announcement, said Elvis Picardo, a portfolio manager at Luft
Financial, iA Private Wealth.
    "Any time a central bank gets a little bit more hawkish it
sends a negative signal to the market," Picardo added.
    The Bank of Canada signaled it could hike interest rates as
soon as April 2022 and said inflation would stay above target
through much of next year, due to higher energy prices and
supply bottlenecks.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2RN1IW
    Previous guidance from the BoC, which became the first
central bank from a G7 country to exit quantitative easing, was
for hikes to begin in the second half of 2022.     
    U.S. crude oil futures  CLc1  settled 2.4% lower at $82.66 a
barrel after industry data showed U.S. crude stockpiles rose
more than expected, pressuring the energy sector.
    It declined 2.6%, while technology shares lost 1.8% and the
heavily-weighted financial services sector ended 0.9% lower.
    Teck Resources Ltd  TECKb.TO  reported an eight-fold jump in
third-quarter adjusted profit, driven by higher prices for
steelmaking coal on the back of surging demand from China. Its
shares were down 1.3%.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2RN1EC

 (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Additional reporting by Amal S in
Bengaluru; editing by Grant McCool)
 ((fergal.smith@thomsonreuters.com; +1 647 480 7446;))