*
TSX ends down 113.97 points, or 0.6%, at 20,606.42
*
Shopify tumbles on slowing revenue forecast
*
Cenovus Energy drops as Jon McKenzie named CEO
(Adds investor quotes and details throughout; updates prices)
By Fergal Smith
Feb 16 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on
Thursday, tracking declines on Wall Street as U.S. economic data
fanned worries the Federal Reserve will continue to raise
interest rates, while Shopify led losses after its revenue
forecast disappointed investors.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended down 113.97 points, or 0.6%, at 20,606.42,
extending this month's sideways pattern after notching a near
eight-month high at the end of January.
Wall Street also lost ground as monthly producer prices
accelerated in January and the number of Americans filing new
claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week.
"We have seen a continuous decline in year-over-year
inflation but the declines aren't as big as the market has been
anticipating," said Philip Petursson, chief investment
strategist at IG Wealth Management.
"That is starting to send signals that maybe the Fed is not
going to be done (hiking) in March. Maybe they will have to go
further and what does that mean for valuations?"
Shares of e-commerce giant Shopify Inc slumped
15.5% as the technology company forecast slowing revenue growth
for the current quarter.
"I think it is one more example of a (technology) company
that the market got a little bit ahead of itself and now we are
seeing a pullback given the reality of the results," Petursson
said.
Technology has been on a tear since the start of the year
after falling sharply in 2022. The sector fell 5.2% on Thursday,
while energy ended 1.6% lower as the price of oil settled down
0.1% at $78.49 a barrel.
Cenovus Energy named Chief Operating Officer Jon
McKenzie as its next president and chief executive, as Canada's
second-largest oil and gas producer swung to a fourth-quarter
net profit from a loss last year.
Its shares ended 4.5% lower.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith: Additional reporting by Shristi
Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Alistair Bell)
