* TSX down 0.1%
* Canada's annual inflation at 2.8% in April
(Updates prices and details throughout)
By Tharuniyaa Lakshmi
May 19 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged lower
on Tuesday in choppy trade, weighed by high Treasury yields,
while investors parsed fresh data that showed domestic inflation
rose in April.
At 10:39 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX
composite index was down 0.1% at 33,795.69 points.
Geopolitical worries eased after U.S. President Donald Trump
on Monday said there was now a "very good chance" of reaching a
deal limiting Iran's nuclear program.
On the index, the heavy-weight mining stocks was
down 3.7%, as gold prices fell 1.6%.
On the flip side, the technology sub-index led
gains, up 2.1%, with Thomson Reuters ( TMSOF ), Constellation
Software ( CNSWF ) and Descartes Systems ( DSGX ) up between 5.3%
and 9.2%.
Global bond markets evoked fears of major central banks
tightening monetary policy as the Middle East conflict sends oil
prices soaring.
Canadian government 10-year bond yields rose 1.3
basis points to 3.706%. The yield on similar U.S. government
benchmark debt rose to 4.6273%.
Canada's annual inflation rate accelerated to 2.8% in April
from 2.4% in March, driven largely by a surge in gasoline
prices, Statistics Canada data showed. Analysts polled by
Reuters had forecast the annual inflation rate at 3.1%.
"Inflation is trending higher, which is not a good trend to
be in and it also complicates the picture for the Bank of
Canada," said Michael Dehal, a senior portfolio manager at Dehal
Investment Partners at Raymond James, adding that rising bond
yields have also weighed on markets.