Sept 25 Reuters Canada39;s main stock index fell slightly on Wednesday, taking a breather after rallying to recordhigh levels this month on the back of domestic and U.S. interestrate cuts and optimism around China stimulus.
Losses in consumer discretionary and energy stocks outweighed gains in materials shares, sending the Toronto Stock Exchange39;s SPTSX composite index down 13.09 points, or 0.05, at 23,939.13.
The index has notched seven alltime closing highs in the month so far.
Given there has been a lot of strength in the market over the last few weeks, I would say it39;s a bit of a pause, rather than being an actual pullback, said Graham Priest, investment advisor at BlueShore Financial.
Canada39;s consumer discretionary sector was the biggest decliner with a 0.8 fall, weighed down by Magna International losing 3.4 after Morgan Stanley downgraded its stock to equalweight from overweight.
The energy sector, down 0.5, was also among the top decliners, tracking losses in oil prices as optimism around China39;s latest stimulus plans waned.
China39;s bumper stimulus package on Tuesday sparked a global stock market rally, but investors have raised doubts if the measures could provide a sustainable boost to the world39;s secondlargest economy as it struggles with deflationary pressures.
Canada39;s materials sector gained 0.6, mirroring strength in gold prices.
On Wall Street, the SP 500 and Dow hovered near record highs on Wednesday, while investors awaited more…