Nov 23 (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index rose on Wednesday, boosted by technology and financial shares, while investors kept a close eye on the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting.
At 10:22 a.m. ET (1522 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) was up 28.8 points, or 0.14%, to 20,248.81, hitting a three-month high.
The information technology sector ( .SPTTTK ) rose 0.9%, supported by a 25.8% rise in Converge Technology Solutions (CTS.TO ) after the company began a strategic review process, including evaluating the possibility of a sale, merger or divestiture.
The financial sector (.SPTTFS) rose 0.5 percent.
Investors now await details of the latest U.S. rate-setting meeting, scheduled for 2 p.m. ET, which could signal an eventual halt in narrower steps as the Fed ends its push to “earn” rate hikes and begin to feel point.
“We’re stepping on eggshells, bad news is good news for the market … the Fed won’t have as much room to raise rates when the data shows weakness in the economy,” said Allan Small, senior investment adviser.Allen Small Financial Group
“The main message, in my view, is going to be longer, they’re going to raise rates, but they’re going to slow down the pace of their future hikes. So you could see a streak of 50 basis point hikes going into December and into the new year ,” Small added.
Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva
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