CANADA STOCKS-TSX falls as weakness in commodities offsets gains in tech stocks

Updates throughout, adds details, and analyst comments

By Utkarsh Hathi

Feb 26 (Reuters) - Canada's resources-heavy index fell on Thursday as weakness in commodity-linked stocks outweighed gains in tech stocks driven by upbeat earnings from Salesforce.

The S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was down 0.1% at 34,084.65 points as of 10:21 a.m. ET.

Worries over AI disruption faded, as shares of Salesforce CRM.N gained 3.5% after an upbeat first-quarter revenue forecast.

Tech stocks on TSX climbed 1.3%, leading the sectoral gains.

But shares of chip giant Nvidia NVDA.O dropped 3.6% as upbeat results did not do enough to impress investors.

Among banks in Canada, Royal Bank of Canada RY.TO shares fell 1.9%, even as the lender's fourth-quarter profit beat estimates, while CIBC CM.TO and Toronto Dominion Bank TD.TO gained 3.6% and 0.8% respectively after a rise in quarterly profit.

Trading in the broader financials subindex .SPTTFS, weighted heaviest on the index, remained choppy. Stocks in the sector were down 0.02%.

"It will be difficult for banks to carry the higher multiple. They could face some headwinds this year, specifically with the uncertainty around the Canada-United States-Mexico (CUSMA) trade deal," said Michael Dehal, senior portfolio manager at Raymond James.

Energy shares .SPTTEN shed 0.3% as oil prices declined following the biggest jump in U.S. crude inventories in three years. The U.S. and Iran could reach a framework for a deal if Washington separates "nuclear and non-nuclear issues", a senior Iranian official said.

The global gold index .SPTTGD and the broader materials sector .GSPTTMT, which includes metal miners, fell 0.9%, as gold prices eased, while silver prices dropped nearly 3%.

Healthcare shares .GSPTTHC were down 1.2%, the most on TSX.

Energy infrastructure firm Canadian Utilities' CU.TO shares fell 2.6% after reporting a decline in quarterly profit, sending utilities .GSPTTUT stocks down 0.1%.

Apparel maker Gildan's GIL.TO shares declined 5.5% after quarterly results. The broader consumer discretionary stocks .GSPTTCD dropped 0.3%.

(Reporting by Utkarsh Tushar Hathi in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo and Sahal Muhammed)

((utkarshtushar.hathi@thomsonreuters.com))