By Fergal Smith
(Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index ended lower on Friday but still notched its third straight weekly gain, helped by recent central bank interest rate cuts that entice investors to move out of cash into high-dividend paying stocks.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended down 77.01 points, or 0.3%, at 23,956.82, after posting a record closing high the day before.
For the week, the index was up 0.4%, adding to gains in the previous two weeks.
“Value strategies as well as dividend-yield products and low-vol (volatility) methodologies have been doing quite well,” said Sid Mokhtari, chief market technician for CIBC Capital Markets. “They are scoring well because of the fact that a rate cut cycle in the U.S. has begun.”
The Federal Reserve is expected to ease interest rates further over the coming months after cutting last week for the first time in four years.
The Bank of Canada has also been lowering…
