The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Canada's main stock index rose on Thursday to a near eight-week high, led by gains for technology and financial shares, as investors grew optimistic that central banks are nearing the end of their interest rate hiking campaigns. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that U.S. stocks also rose, and bond yields fell in both countries, as data showed a slowdown in U.S. producer inflation, supporting the view that the Federal Reserve will stop increasing rates after an expected 25-basis-point rate increase later this month. In the 12 months through June, the producer price index climbed 0.1 per cent. That was the smallest year-on-year gain since August, 2020, and followed a 0.9-per-cent increase in May. The report followed a U.S. report Wednesday that showed U.S. consumer prices registering their smallest annual increase in more than two years. The Bank of Canada has also been tightening monetary policy. On Wednesday, it raised its benchmark rate to a 22-year high of 5 per cent. "Even though the Bank of Canada wasn't exactly dovish yesterday in its rate hike, I think the general consensus is that we are very close to the end," said Philip Petursson at IG Wealth Management.