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Canadian housing starts rise 14% in Feb, CMHC says

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TC Energy ( TRP ) up as co to sell Prince Rupert pipeline project

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TSX down 0.1%

(Updated at 10:08 a.m. ET/1408 GMT)

By Shubham Batra

March 15 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on

Friday hurt by losses in the technology sector that mirrored its

U.S. counterparts, while the domestic housing data spurred

worries that the Bank of Canada may not cut interest rates soon.

At 10:08 a.m. ET (14:08 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's

S&P/TSX composite index was down 29.56 points, or

0.14%, at 21,800.29.

Rate-sensitive technology shares led sectoral

declines and were down 0.7% as still-sticky inflation raised

worries on the timing of the first interest rate cut by the U.S.

Federal Reserve.

"The glide path to the Fed's 2% inflation target is

anything but smooth and the final mile to the finish line is

likely to take some time and a lot more data to gauge its

progress," said Carol Schleif, chief investment officer, BMO

Family Office.

"The earliest possible cut could be June, though we wouldn't

be shocked to see that delayed to later in the year if the data

continues to come in hot as recent data has."

The materials sector advanced 0.4% after Shanghai

copper prices hit record highs and London prices touched an

11-month peak as Chinese smelters agreed to trim production in

the face of weak profits and losses.

In economic data, Canadian housing starts rose by 14% in

February from the previous month as groundbreaking increased on

multiple-unit urban homes, Canadian Mortgage and Housing

Corporation (CMHC) data showed on Friday.

Premium Brands Holdings ( PRBZF ) shares slipped 4% to the

bottom of TSX after its quarterly earnings missed analysts'

estimates.

On the flip side, Northwest Healthcare Properties REIT

soared 6.2% to the top of the benchmark after

quarterly results.

TC Energy ( TRP ) rose 0.3% after the North American

pipeline operator agreed to sell its Prince Rupert natural gas

pipeline project to two partners in Ksi Lisims LNG, a proposed

Canadian export terminal.