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TSX ends up 0.3% at 21,831.02

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Posts highest closing level since April 2022

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Tech and industrials rise 0.8%

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Utilities sector loses 1.1%

(Updates at market close)

By Purvi Agarwal and Fergal Smith

March 12 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on

Tuesday to a near two-year high, led by gains for technology and

industrial shares, as investors shrugged off the second straight

month of firmer U.S. inflation readings.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index

ended up 61.80 points, or 0.3%, at 21,831.02, its

highest closing level since April 2022.

U.S. consumer prices increased solidly in February amid

higher costs for gasoline and shelter, suggesting some

stickiness in inflation that further diminishes the chances of a

Federal Reserve interest rate cut before June.

"Equity markets don't seem that fazed by the disappointing

result. They recognize that this is not a great result, but it's

not bad enough to completely knock the Fed off track", said Doug

Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets.

"There's still the prospect for interest rate cuts sometime

around the middle part of the year."

The technology sector rose 0.8%, with e-commerce company

Shopify ( SHOP ) gaining 1.9%. Industrials were also up 0.8%

and heavily-weighted financials added 0.2%.

National Bank of Canada ( NTIOF ) denied a media report saying

it was in talks to sell its Cambodian unit. The bank's shares

rose 0.3%.

The high-dividend paying utilities sector lost 1.1% as bond

yields climbed, while the materials sector gave back some recent

gains. It fell 0.6%, as gold's record-setting rally lost some

momentum.