Yahoo Finance CANADA STOCKS-TSX climbs as investors assess GDP data; miners gain
(Updated at 9:46 a.m. ET/1346 GMT)
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Karora up after Australia's Ramelius ends buyout talks
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MAG Silver up after brokerage upgrade
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Canadian economy grows 0.6% in January
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TSX up 0.3%
By Johann M Cherian
March 28 (Reuters) - Canada's main index edged up on Thursday, as investors assessed data that showed the domestic economy grew faster than expected, while gains in mining stocks buoyed sentiment further.
At 9:46 a.m. ET (1346 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 56.43 points, or 0.26%, at 22,163.51.
Canada's economy grew 0.6% in January, its fastest growth rate in a year and higher than the forecast of a 0.4% rise. The data also showed that February's GDP is likely to have grown by 0.4%.
"The surprisingly healthy start to 2024 could make the BoC a bit less comfortable with the inflation outlook," said Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO.
"Our call for a June rate cut still hinges on the coming CPI reports, but if this strength in activity is close to replicated into Q2, the BoC will see much less urgency to cut rates any time soon."
Traders are pricing in a 57% chance that the Bank of Canada (BoC) would deliver its first interest rate cut at its June meeting.
Optimism around imminent rate cuts by the BoC and hopes of the economy achieving a soft-landing have helped the TSX clinch record highs early into 2024.
The index is on course for quarterly gains of more than 5%, with energy and healthcare among biggest sectoral winners.
The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, led the gains on Thursday, up 1.0%, on higher gold prices.
Investors are also awaiting the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures data, due on Friday, which can offer clues on the timing of the Federal Reserve's rate cut.
The U.S. and Canadian markets will be closed on Friday for the Good Friday holiday.
Karora Resources rose 2.9% after Australian gold miner Ramelius Resources said it had ended discussions for a potential acquisition of the Canada-based mine operator.
MAG Silver added 2.0% after brokerage Scotiabank upgraded the miner to "sector outperform" from "sector perform". (Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
