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TSX down 0.3%

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Healthcare, energy shares lead declines

(Updated at 9:57 a.m. ET/ 1357 GMT)

By Purvi Agarwal

April 11 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged

lower on Thursday, dragged down by losses in healthcare and

energy shares, as hopes for a June rate cut waned.

At 9:57 a.m. ET (13:57 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's

S&P/TSX composite index was down 72.51 points, or

0.33%, at 22,126.62.

Healthcare stocks declined 0.7% on the index,

pulled down by a 4.3% decline in pot firm Tilray Brands

.

Heavy-weight financials fell 0.4%, while energy

shares slipped 0.7%, tracking a downward trend in oil

prices.

Seven of the eleven sectors were trading in losses.

"It's a bit of a continuation after the big move yesterday,"

said Scott Blair, chief investment officer at CWB Wealth.

The TSX logged its worst day since February 13 on Wednesday,

as the Bank of Canada left its key rate unchanged and a hot

inflation reading from the U.S. prompted investors to scale back

expectations for interest rate cuts.

Meanwhile, a government report in the U.S. showed that

producer prices rose less than expected in March, which led

traders to bet that the Federal Reserve could start its easing

cycle as early as July.

"Anything that shows that inflation is not as resilient as

yesterday's print, will be helpful for US rate cut prospects,

which will be helpful for our (Canadian) prospects," Blair

added.

A separate reading also showed the number of Americans

filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than

expected last week.

In Canadian corporate news, shares of Toronto Industries

slid 3.3% after brokerage Raymond James downgraded the

heavy equipment producer to "market perform" from "outperform".