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Canadian Natural Resources climbs on dividend hike
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TD Bank beats Q1 profit estimates
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TSX fall 0.1%
By Johann M Cherian March 2 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index was subdued on Thursday, as material stocks declined after data showing resilience in U.S. labor market fanned worries that the Federal Reserve will keeping raising interest rates. At 10:13 a.m. ET (1513 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 16.81 points, or 0.08%, at 20,242.97. Wall Street's main indexes tumbled after data showed weekly jobless claims in the U.S. unexpectedly fell, and unit labor costs in the previous quarter surged — offering more room for the Fed to raise rates further. "If you have a hawkish Fed, that would result in slowing the economy and a hit to commodity prices," Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management said. "With Canada being sensitive to commodity prices, a negative impact on commodity prices finds its way into Canadian equities,"
The materials sector lost 0.3%, tracking weakness in commodity prices as a firmer dollar hurt demand from holders of other currencies. Bucking the trend, the energy sector rose 0.9% tracking oil prices. The TSX is up 4.5% for the year, recouping more than half of the losses it logged in 2022, as investors were hopeful that a stalling economy would prompt the Bank of Canada to hit pause on its hawkish monetary policy.
In contrast, its U.S. peer S&P 500 has managed to eke out a modest 2.9% despite worries of more rate hikes from the world's largest economy. Among stocks, the country's second biggest lender, Toronto-Dominion Bank beat quarterly profit estimates underpinned by a robust growth in personal loans. However, the bank fell 2.3% The financials sector fell 0.6% but has gained nearly 7% so far this year. Canadian Natural Resources rose 2.3% after hiking its quarterly dividend by 6% and reporting a robust annual cash flow. (Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh Venkateshwaran)
