CANADA STOCKS-TSX posts record closing high after central bank rate decisions

By Fergal Smith

TORONTO, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose to a record high on Wednesday, helped by gains for financial and technology shares, after policy decisions by the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve that met expectations.

The S&P/TSX Composite .GSPTSE ended up 246.48 points, or 0.8%, at 31,490.85, eclipsing the record closing high it posted last Thursday.

The S&P 500 also rallied after the Federal Reserve cut U.S. interest rates by a quarter percentage point and signaled that it will likely pause further reductions in borrowing costs in line with expectations.

The Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate steady at 2.25% as widely expected. Governor Tiff Macklem said the economy was proving resilient overall to the effect of U.S. trade measures.

"All and all it's a positive reaction for the Canadian equity market," said Michael Dehal, a senior portfolio manager at Dehal Investment Partners at Raymond James. "If they (the BoC) leave rates the same that's going to definitely feed into a better market for next year because you'll have more clarity."

Expectations that the BoC would begin hiking interest rates in 2026 were dialed back after the rate decision. 0#CADIRPR They had climbed following stronger-than-expected jobs data on Friday.

Heavily weighted financials .SPTTFS added 1.1%, with Toronto-Dominion Bank shares up nearly 2%.

Shares of e-commerce company Shopify Inc SHOP.TO were up 4.8%, which helped lift the technology sector .SPTTTK to a gain of 1.6%.

The materials group .GSPTTMT , which includes metal mining shares, gained 1.1% as gold XAU= copper HGc1 prices moved higher.

Just two of 10 major sectors ended lower, with consumer staples losing 0.4% and utilities 0.6% lower.