Canada Stocks-Financial stocks drag TSX lower; Middle East jitters linger

Canada's main stock index fell on Monday, weighed down by financial and healthcare stocks, as investors remained cautious of escalating U.S.-Iran tensions and assessed a softer-than-expected domestic inflation reading.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index .GSPTSE fell 0.2% to 35,192.84 points by 11:00 a.m. ET.

• Financial stocks were among the biggest decliners, led by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce CM.TO and National Bank of Canada NA.TO, both down over 1%.
• Healthcare sector .GSPTTHC was down 1%, dragged by losses in Bausch Health Companies BHC.TO and Curaleaf Holdings CURA.TO.
• Only four out of 10 major sectors traded higher.
• The S&P/TSX Capped Information Technology index .SPTTTK was up 1%, steadying after recent jitters in the sector. It tracked gains in the tech-heavy U.S. Nasdaq .IXIC.
• Celestica CLS.TO, Shopify SHOP.TO and Tecsys TCS.TO were among the top gainers, up between 0.2% and 1.7%.
• "If you need a growth-oriented portfolio, you need to be invested in tech. I don't think investors can shift away from tech," said Alan Small, senior investment adviser of the Allan Small Financial Group with iA Private Wealth.