TORONTO, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index rose on Monday, helped by gains for the energy and consumer staples sectors, as investors weighed a Bank of Canada business survey that could leave the door open to interest rate cuts in the first half of the year.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) ended up 71.66 points, or 0.3%, at 21,061.88, stopping just short of the 20-month high it notched last Monday at 21,074.91.
Trading volumes were lower than usual, with U.S. markets closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
Canadian firms say their order books declined as interest rates crimped consumer spending, and they see inflation easing despite increased concerns over wages for the next year, the central bank said in a quarterly survey.
“The report should make the Bank of Canada feel a little better that inflationary pressures and expectations are normalising, albeit not by quite enough yet to…
