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Restaurant Brands International tanks to bottom of TSX
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CAE Inc among top gainers on TSX
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S&P/TSX composite index down 0.36%
By Shristi Achar A Feb 14 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged lower in choppy trading on Tuesday, as Restaurant Brands International's quarterly profit miss dragged down the consumer discretionary sector, while gains in energy and technology firms helped limit losses. At 10:45 a.m. ET (1545 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 75.08 points, or 0.36%, at 20,627.15. Burger King owner Restaurant Brands International dropped 3.6% as the company missed fourth-quarter profit estimates. The company also named former chief operating officer Joshua Kobza as its new chief executive. The consumer discretionary sector was down by 1.4%, leading declines on the TSX. Meanwhile, data showed U.S consumer prices accelerated in January, but the year-on-year increase was the smallest since late 2021, pointing to a continued but slow fall in inflation.
"Inflation keeps coming down in the U.S., but very slowly. So if that gains any traction, you will probably see the market pull back," said Allan Small, senior investment advisor at Allan Small Financial Group. "It seems like the Canadian market is following in the same pattern. We see inflation falling but not as quickly as central banks would like." Money markets now see a roughly 85% chance that the Bank of Canada will raise its benchmark rate by July after having expected the central bank's next move to be a cut before the release of the employment data. The rate-sensitive technology stocks gained 0.2%, with Shopify up 0.8%, a day ahead of its quarterly results.
Energy shares rose 0.6%.
In earnings-driven stock movement, TC Energy Corp gained 0.7% as the pipeline operator beat market estimates for fourth-quarter profit on sustained demand for energy.
CAE Inc jumped 5.5% after the aerospace and defense company's third-quarter results beat estimates. (Reporting by Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)