*
TSX ends down 16.33 points, or 0.1%, at 20,751.05
*
Energy falls 2.8%; oil settles 3.1% lower
*
TC Energy shares end 5.6% lower
*
CGI gains on upbeat results
(Adds analyst quote and details throughout, updates prices)
By Fergal Smith
Feb 1 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged lower
on Wednesday as a drop in oil prices weighed on energy shares
and investors assessed the Federal Reserve's latest interest
rate hike, but the index closed well above its low for the day.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended down 16.33 points, or 0.1%, at 20,751.05 after
posting its highest closing level in nearly eight months on
Tuesday.
U.S. stock indexes rallied after Federal Reserve Chair
Jerome Powell acknowledged that inflation was starting to ease
following a quarter-point hike by the U.S. central bank.
Powell said for the first time "that the disinflation
process has begun," Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at
OANDA, said in a note. "If the next couple of inflation reports
show pricing pressures continue to ease, the Fed may finish this
tightening cycle in March."
The Toronto market's energy sector fell 2.8% as oil settled
3.1% lower at $74.41 a barrel, pressured by U.S. government data
showing a big build in inventory.
TC Energy Corp was a drag on the sector. The
pipeline operator's shares slumped 5.6% after the company raised
its cost estimate more than expected for completing its troubled
Coastal GasLink project.
The consumer staples sector fell 1.8% but consumer
discretionary advanced 1.7% and technology was up 1.8%.
It was helped by a gain of 4.1% for the shares of CGI Inc after the company reported better-than-expected first
quarter earnings.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Additional reporting by Shashwat
Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Will Dunham
and Shailesh Kuber)
