TSX ends slightly lower as financials and utilities weigh
TSX ends down 6.63 points at 24,716.70
Shares of goeasy tumble 9.4%
Utilities sector loses 0.6%
Materials advances 1.6% as gold climbs
Updates at market close
By Nikhil Sharma and Fergal Smith
Oct 22 (Reuters) -Canada's main index inched lower on Tuesday, weighed by declines for the financial and utilities sectors, but the move was modest as commodity prices rose and ahead of an expected outsized interest rate cut by the Bank of Canada.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE ended down 6.63 points, or 0.03%, at 24,716.70, its second straight lower closing level after notching a record high on Friday.
U.S. benchmark the S&P 500 was also down marginally as investors awaited more earnings to assess the health of American companies.
"The big news in Canada this week is tomorrow with the Bank of Canada. So today, we're most likely following the U.S. markets," said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management.
The BoC is expected to slash its benchmark rate by 50 basis points, its first such reduction in 15 years outside of the pandemic era.
The heavily weighted financials sector slipped 0.2%, pressured by a decline of 9.4% for the shares of goeasy Ltd GSY.TO after brokerage BMO downgraded the consumer lender to "market perform" from "outperform".
The utilities sector was down 0.6% and consumer discretionary lost 0.7%.
The materials sector, which includes metal miners, was among the sectors that gained ground. It added 1.6% as gold XAU= climbed to an all-time high.
The price of oil CLc1 also rose, settling 2.2%higher at $72.09 a barrel. Energy was up 0.1%.
Shares of Dye & Durham Ltd DND.TO climbed 9.5% after the legal software firm confirmed a report that it has expanded scope of its strategic review process to include a sale or merger.
Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Nikhil Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Daniel Wallis
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