Toronto Market Ends With Tech Stocks Up – Feb 07, 2024 4:38 PM EST

* TSX ends up 0.1% at 20,969.18

* Technical rallies 1.2%; Shopify adds 4.3%

* Materials group decreases by 0.8%; copper hit a three-week low

* Finning International shares fell 9.2%

Feb 7 (Reuters) – Canada's main stock index edged higher on Wednesday as industrials and technology shares rose, but the move was limited ahead of domestic jobs data that could provide insight into the Bank of Canada's policy outlook later this week.

On the Toronto Stock Exchange, the S&P/TSX composite rose 11.44 points, or 0.1%, to end at 20,969.18.

Canada's jobs report on Friday is expected to show the economy added 15,000 jobs in January.

“The report will be in focus to get a sense of wage growth in Canada, which is stickier than in the United States and likely to affect service inflation,” said Angelo Kourkafas, investment strategist at Edward Jones Investments.

In deciding to hold key interest rates overnight on January 24, BoC governing council members were concerned about cutting borrowing costs too soon amid persistent inflation.

The industrials sector gained 0.5% and technology gained 1.2%, leading e-commerce company Shopify Inc to a 4.3% gain.

The materials group, which includes precious and base metals producers and fertilizer companies, fell 0.8%, with copper falling to a three-week low.

Shares of Finning International Inc fell 9.2% after the heavy equipment supplier missed analysts' fourth-quarter earnings estimates. (Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore, Shweta Agarwal, Taseem Zahid Jonathan Oatis)