TORONTO, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index fell on Tuesday, snapping its longest winning streak ever, pressured by declines for the consumer discretionary and consumer staples sectors.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended down 111.39 points, or 0.5%, at 21,173.45, its first lower close since Oct. 4.
The winning streak of 14 trading days was the Toronto market’s longest in Reuters data going back to 1979.
“The financials and energy have done quite well. So that’s relatively supportive of the TSX because those two sectors are over-represented,” said Joseph Abramson, co-chief investment officer at Northland Wealth Management.
Financials have benefited in recent weeks from higher bond yields, while oil prices have climbed to multi-year highs, boosting energy shares. Combined, financials and energy account for nearly half the Toronto market’s value.
“Even though the Fed is going to start tapering, there is still all of this excess liquidity and that’s supporting markets,” Abramson added.
The Federal Reserve could start reducing its bond purchases as soon as next month, while the Bank of Canada is expected on Wednesday to largely end stimulus from its quantitative easing program.
On Monday, the TSX notched a record closing high, while it was on track to advance 5.5% in October, its biggest gain since November last year.
Consumer discretionary shares on Tuesday fell 1.4% and the consumer staples sector ended 1.2% lower.
The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 0.8%. Gold fell 0.8% to $1,792.6 an ounce.
Powersport vehicle manufacturer BRP Inc was the biggest decliner, sliding 8%. Shares of electronics company Celestica Inc rose 7.2% after reporting quarterly results. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Additional reporting by Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing by David Gregorio)
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