(Updates prices and details throughout)
* TSX down 0.07%
* Miners drag as gold prices slip
* Bank of Canada holds rates
By Tharuniyaa Lakshmi
June 10 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on
Wednesday after as renewed U.S.-Iran tensions cast doubts on
prospects for a deal to end the war, while Bank of Canada kept
interest rates unchanged as expected.
At 10:11 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX
composite index was down 0.07% at 34,386.29 points.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday Iran had
taken too long to negotiate a deal and would now "have to pay
the price," while Tehran said it would reassess diplomatic
engagement with Washington after tit-for-tat strikes overnight.
* "This so-called ceasefire is not so 'ceasing', so that is
dampening risk appetite. This sort of sabre-rattling in Iran is
not helping," said Brian Madden, chief investment officer at
First Avenue Investment Counsel.
* The materials group, which includes metal
mining stocks, weighed the most on the index after gold prices
fell around 2% as concerns about interest rate hikes resurfaced.
* The Bank of Canada on Wednesday left its key interest rate
unchanged as widely expected and said it was seeing limited
evidence that higher energy prices were fueling broad-based
inflation.
* "The Bank of Canada's tone may matter more than the rate
decision itself. By keeping both cuts and hikes in play the Bank
is acknowledging that policymakers are operating with genuine
uncertainty... one bad inflation print and they hike. One bad
jobs report and they cut," said Michael Constantino, CEO of
Webull Canada.
* Five of the 10 TSX sectors traded higher, with energy
stocks helping limit losses, up 1.2%, as oil prices
rose after President Trump scolded Iran in a Truth Social post.
* Meanwhile, economists have cited the upcoming review of
the North American free trade agreement - the United
States-Mexico-Canada Agreement - as the biggest uncertainty
hanging over the Canadian economy.
* U.S. consumer prices increased 4.2% in the 12 months
through May, the largest gain since April 2023, data showed, as
the Middle East conflict raised the price of gasoline and other
energy products.
* Among others, Thomson Reuters ( TMSOF ) fell 1.3% as
the content and technology firm faces a shareholder vote at its
annual meeting over its U.S. government contracts for services
that some investors and employees say may help power the Trump
administration's crackdown on undocumented immigrants.