*
TSX ends down 45.46 points, or 0.2%, at 20,679.54
*
Materials sector falls 0.9%
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Technology ends 0.6% lower
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Brookfield Asset Management shares rise 2.75%
(Adds strategist quote and details throughout, updates prices)
By Fergal Smith
Feb 8 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on
Wednesday as technology and metal mining shares lost ground, but
the move was modest after the release of "dovish" minutes from
the Bank of Canada's January meeting.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended down 45.46 points, or 0.2%, at 20,679.54.
U.S. stocks also fell, paring most of the strong gains of
the previous session, with tech-focused shares leading the way
lower.
The BoC hiked rates last month rather than leaving them
unchanged because of labor-market tightness and
stronger-than-expected growth, according to the "summary of
Governing Council deliberations" that was issued for the first
time by the central bank.
The document "leaned dovish, as it revealed policymakers
considered pausing at the January meeting," Benjamin Reitzes,
Canadian rates & macro strategist at BMO Capital Markets, said
in a note.
The Toronto market's technology group fell 0.6% and the
materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners
and fertilizer companies, was down 0.9% as copper prices fell.
Brookfield Asset Management Ltd was a bright spot.
Its shares rose 2.75% after its reinsurance unit agreed to take
insurer Argo Group International private in a $1.1
billion deal.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith: Additional reporting by Shristi
Achar A and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika
Syamnath and Sandra Maler)
