April 16 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index inched down on Thursday, as uncertainty around the progress made toward a Middle East peace deal weighed on investor sentiment, even as energy shares gained on higher oil prices.
At 10:47 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 0.1% at 34,202.07 points, still hovering near its highest level since its March 2 peak.
While U.S. and Iranian officials are considering returning to Pakistan for further talks as early as this weekend, rising uncertainty about when shipping disruptions would ease in the vital Strait of Hormuz saw oil prices jump 1.7%.
TSX's energy subindex added 1.1%, tracking crude prices.
Shares of real estate investment trust First Capital jumped 8.2% to a record high after Choice Properties and KingSett Capital agreed to buy the REIT in a $6.85 billion deal, helping the real estate sub-index add 1.5%.
The technology sub-index also rose 0.9%, buoyed by renewed interest in AI-focused stocks after sharp rallies in companies pivoting toward artificial intelligence.
"We're right back to AI being what the market cares about. We'd taken our eye off it for a bit because a lot else was going on, but now AI is back," said Matthew Kempton, Portfolio Manager at Verecan Capital Management Inc.
However, seven out of 10 sectors on the TSX were trading in red, including heavyweight financials.
Among individual movers, Cineplex Inc rose 6.3% after Bloomberg News reported the movie theater chain is shopping itself to potential buyers in a bid to combine with a rival.
(Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Ananda)
By Tharuniyaa Lakshmi
