Toronto market dips for third day as oil prices fall

By Fergal Smith

(Reuters) -Canada's main stock index ended lower for a third straight day on Tuesday as a drop in oil prices weighed on energy shares and investors awaited a key U.S. inflation report that could shape expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended down 15.83 points, or 0.1%, at 22,243.34, extending its decline since notching a record closing high on Thursday.

"Not doing quite as well as the U.S. market today. I suspect that's mostly a drag from energy because the oil price is down today," said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management.

Wall Street's main indexes rose as investors assessed a mixed producer prices report and awaited crucial consumer prices data expected early on Wednesday.

The energy sector was down 0.9% as the price of oil settled 1.4% lower at $78.02 a barrel and investors watched wildfires in remote western Canada that could disrupt oil supplies.

Industrials were also a drag, falling 0.6%, and the utilities sector, which includes many high-dividend paying stocks that could particularly benefit from rate cuts, was down 0.5%.

Gains for the materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, helped limit the TSX's decline. The sector rose 1.8% as gold and copper prices climbed and after Hudbay Minerals Inc beat first-quarter profit estimates.

Shares of Hudbay Minerals rose 14.1%, while BlackBerry Ltd shares were up 11.8% following a meme stocks trading frenzy reminiscent of a similar rally in January 2021.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Khushi Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Ravi Prakash Kumar and Tasim Zahid)