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June 17 (Reuters) – The main Canadian stock index edged up on Monday, as shares of financial companies rose ahead of a key U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting that could determine the path of future interest rate cuts.
* The US central bank is expected to leave borrowing costs unchanged at the end of the meeting, but analysts expect data to show a growing number of policymakers are open to a rate cut in the months future.
* Interest rate sensitive financial companies rose 0.5%.
* At 9:53 a.m. ET (13:53 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S & P / TSX Composite Index was up 22.2 points, or 0.14%, to 16,324.11.
* The materials sector, which includes precious and base metal miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.3%.
* Only the energy sector traded down 0.1% as US crude prices fell 0.9% per barrel, while Brent crude fell 0.5%.
* The health sector, which was up 0.9%, led the main index’s gains as shares of cannabis producers rose. Canopy Growth Corp and Aurora Cannabis Inc have supported the industry.
* On the TSX, 144 issues were up, while 89 issues were down for a 1.62: 1 ratio in favor of winners, with 20.94 million shares traded.
* The biggest percentage gain on the TSX was Alacer Gold Corp, rising 8%, followed by a 4.1% gain for Bombardier Inc.
* Fortuna Silver Mines fell 3.9%, the highest on the TSX, and the second biggest decline was Uni-Select Inc, down 3.8%.
* The most traded stocks by volume were Bombardier, Argex Titanium Inc and Royal Nickel.
* The TSX posted 15 new 52-week highs and seven new lows.
* Among all Canadian issues, there were 56 new 52-week highs and 19 new lows, with total volume reaching 37.15 million shares. (Reporting by Amy Caren Daniel in Bangalore; Editing by James Emmanuel)
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