Feb 17 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index slipped on Tuesday, dragged down by commodity-linked shares after a pullback in precious metals and oil prices, while investors assessed January inflation data.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 1.32% at 32,633.82 points as of 10:24 a.m. ET.
The gold index led the sectoral losses with a 4.3% dip, as gold dipped to a more than one-week low, pressured by a stronger U.S. dollar.
Silver slid 5%, and copper prices also weakened on rising inventories. The broader materials index, which includes metal miners, fell 4.3%.
Energy shares declined 1.3%, as oil prices fell after Iran's foreign minister said the United States and Iran had reached an understanding on the main "guiding principles" of their nuclear talks, easing supply disruption concerns.
Wall Street indexes S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down 0.4% and 1% respectively, with investors still on edge about AI-triggered disruption.
The tech stocks on TSX were down 1.2%, retreating after the sector had gained on Friday to halt the losing streak.
"Investors are jumping in and out very quickly without doing any fundamental analysis," said Shiraz Ahmed, founder at Sartorial Wealth.
"The money on the street would probably agree that the AI story is still in its infancy. But the obvious winners and losers are very difficult to predict."
Canada's annual inflation in January accelerated at a slower pace than the previous month as gasoline prices dropped, keeping expectations for the Bank of Canada to pause rate cuts intact.
Limiting the declines, consumer staples gained 0.7%, and industrials rose 0.8%.
The heaviest weighing financials also added 0.1%.
Investors will also turn their attention to minutes of the Federal Reserve's January meeting due on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Utkarsh Tushar Hathi; Editing by Sahal Muhammed and Shailesh Kuber)
By Utkarsh Hathi
