*
TSX ends down 0.3% at 20,354.68
*
Energy falls 1.7%; oil settles 4.3% lower
*
Aritzia plunges 20.8% after reporting results
(Adds investor quotes and details throughout; updates prices)
By Fergal Smith
May 3 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on
Wednesday, as a drop in oil prices weighed on energy shares and
the Federal Reserve pushed back against market bets on interest
rate cuts later this year even as it signaled a possible pause
in its tightening cycle.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended down 52.88 points, or 0.3%, at 20,354.68, its
third straight day of declines.
Wall Street stocks also lost ground in choppy trading after
the Fed hiked interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point.
While the central bank signaled a possible pause in its
tightening cycle it also said that it is too soon to say the
cycle is over.
"They are doing their best to take away those expectations
of rate cuts in the second half of the year ... they are still
going to be data dependent," said Greg Taylor, a portfolio
manager at Purpose Investments.
"Markets have had a really strong start to the year ... I think there is some risk that we have pulled forward a lot of the good news and the second half of the year is going to be still choppy." The energy sector fell 1.7% as oil settled 4.3% lower at $68.60 a barrel. It was the second straight day of steep losses for oil as investors fretted about the health of the U.S. economy. The consumer discretionary sector was also a drag, falling 1.5%, as shares of Aritzia Inc plunged 20.8% after the company reported quarterly results. Utilities were a bright spot, advancing 1.3%. (Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto; additional reporting by Shristi Achar A and Vansh Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Deepa Babington)
