March 13 (Reuters) - Canada's main index advanced for a third straight session on Wednesday, boosted by commodity-linked stocks, while investors await more U.S. economic data this week to adjust their expectations for the Federal Reserve's monetary policy path.
At 10:14 a.m. ET (1414 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE), opens new tab was up 153.05 points, or 0.7%, at 21,984.07. The benchmark index was hovering near its two-year highs, which it hit on Tuesday.
"We've seen a 16% rally in the TSX in the last four months. The 2022 high could be a level that markets have their eyes on, but could also potentially stop to catch their breath," said Angelo Kourkafas, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones Investments.
Investors would assess more economic data from the United States including monthly readings of producer prices index and retail sales, which are due later in the week, for further clues about the health of the American economy.
"Tomorrow's producer price index will be very important, given that some of its subcomponent categories feed into the core PCE, which is the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation," Kourkafas added.
Back home, the materials sector (.GSPTTMT), opens new tab rebounded from its losses in the previous session, up 2.1%.
Copper miners such as Ero Copper (ERO.TO), opens new tab boosted the sector with a 6.8% gain, as the prices of the red metal jumped to their highest in seven months after Chinese smelters agreed on a joint production cut.
The materials sector had snapped its longest winning streak since April 2022 on Tuesday, dragged down by lower gold prices.
Energy shares (.SPTTEN), opens new tab, up 1.2%, were also among the top performers on the TSX, as oil prices increased on the back of potential supply disruption due to geopolitical tensions, signs of strong demand and mounting hopes of U.S. rate cuts.
Company-wise, shares of Transcontinental gained 4.6%, after the packaging firm beat first-quarter estimates for adjusted profit per share.
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Reporting by Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar
