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TSX ends up 31 points, or 0.15%, at 20,219.19
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CIBC gains as profit beat estimates
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Energy climbs 1.9%; oil settles 1.2% higher
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Index falls 1.4% for the week
(Adds details throughout; updates prices)
By Shristi Achar A and Fergal Smith
Feb 24 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index ended higher on Friday,
recouping a small part of its recent decline, as higher oil prices and a strong
start to the domestic bank earnings season offset uncertainty about when the
Federal Reserve will be able to stop raising interest rates.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended up 31
points, or 0.15%, at 20,219.19 after losses in the previous five sessions.
For the week, the index was down 1.4%, its third straight week of
losses. On Thursday, it posted its lowest closing level in six weeks.
Wall Street closed well down on Friday as investors braced for the possibility of more aggressive rate hikes from the Fed as U.S. economic data pointed to resilient consumers.
"We talk about interest rates and central banks moving the market. But you have to understand that why the market moves further to the downside is because of the uncertainty," said Allan Small, senior investment advisor at Allan Small Financial Group.
"If the market can factor in what is going to happen, that is when you see the market move to the upside." Most of the major sectors on the TSX lost ground, including a decline of 1.7% for technology, which is particularly sensitive to higher rates. In contrast, heavily-weighted financials advanced 0.6% as Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce trounced first-quarter profit estimates. Its shares ended 2.7% higher, while Toronto-Dominion Bank shares rose 0.8% after the lender said it received all regulatory approvals to complete its $1.3 billion acquisition of New York-based boutique investment bank Cowen Inc . Energy was also a bright spot, climbing 1.9% as
oil
settled 1.2% higher at $76.32 a barrel on the prospect of Russian export
cuts.
(Reporting by Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Diane
Craft)
