*
Air Canada plunges on larger-than-expected loss
*
Producer prices hotter-than-expected
*
Gold miners drop on quarterly profit miss
*
MTY Food Group extends declines
By Shristi Achar A Feb 17 (Reuters) - Canada's main resource-heavy stock index fell on Friday as commodity-linked stocks fell, while hotter-than-expected domestic producer prices data fed into investor angst about interest rate hikes. At 10:24 a.m. ET (1524 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 66.4 points, or 0.32%, at 20,540.02, headed for a second week of declines.
Producer prices in Canada rose by 0.4% in January, as opposed to estimates of a 0.1% decrease in the prices, adding to investor fears of further monetary tightening from central banks.
"There is some caution from investors as they are repricing how far central banks have to go to slow the economy down," said Angelo Kourkafas, investment strategist at Edward Jones Investments. "The Bank of Canada has even taken a stance that they're going to pivot. But the caveat is, depending on the data, the BoC will likely take a more cautionary stance with further rate hikes than the Fed will." The energy sector was the biggest weight on the index, down 2.2% as oil prices fell on concerns of more U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hikes that could weigh on demand, and on signs of ample supply. Gold miners fell 1.5%, dragged down by Agnico Eagle Mines and IAMGOLD Corp , both of which missed fourth quarter profit estimates, while falling spot gold prices weighed further. In earnings, Air Canada slumped 8.8%, among top losers on TSX, after the country's largest carrier reported a larger-than-expected quarterly loss per share. MTY Food Group Inc extended its declines, down 8.1% as multiple brokerages cut their price targets after the casual dining chain reported a fall in fourth-quarter net income. (Reporting by Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by Alden Bentley and Shailesh Kuber)
