TSX pulls back from record highs to trade flat

By Purvi Agarwal

(Reuters) - Canada's main stock index traded flat on Monday, just below all-time highs, as gains in mining stocks were eclipsed by declines in communication services sector, while the latest U.S. inflation print kept the bets of a June interest rate cut on the table.

At 10:13 a.m. ET (14:13 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 2.46 points, or 0.01%, at 22,164.57.

Eight of the eleven sectors on the index slipped, with communication services down 1.4%.

"Markets were strong overnight that they've kind of been weakening. It's not unusual (for markets) to change as the morning progresses when people get up and come into work", said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management.

However, the materials sector, which houses Canadian miners and fertilizer companies, rose 1.2% as higher gold prices sent miners such as IamGold and SSR Mining up 6.6% and 3.2%, respectively. [GOL/] [MET/L]

On the data front, the U.S. personal consumption expenditures(PCE) price index showed a moderate increase on Friday, keeping alive hopes of an interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve in June.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday that he expects interest rates in the future will be lower than they are now but does not expect them to return to the levels from before the COVID pandemic.

"At this point, it looks like markets seem to be hanging a little bit more on Powell's talk that maybe the Fed doesn't have to cut interest rates so quickly", Ciezynski added.

Canadian manufacturing activity moved closer in March to ending a lengthy period of contraction, data showed on Monday.

Among individual stocks, Ballard Power Systems surged 12.7% to the top of the index after the fuel cell maker announced its largest order in history.

(Reporting by Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)