Canada's main stock index opened higher on Wednesday, tracking the gains in Wall Street peers, after cooler-than-expected U.S. producer inflation data boosted bets on a September interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
The TSX Composite Index gained 35.28 points to begin Wednesday’s session to 29.063.01.
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.06 cents to 72.27 cents U.S.
Meanwhile, expectations that the Bank of Canada will resume its easing cycles have supported market sentiment since last Friday, following disappointing jobs data.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 6.23 points Wednesday to 867.45
Seven of the 12 subgroups were positive, led by gold, better by 1.7%, while materials and energy were each ahead 1.1%.
The five losing groups gainers were weighed mostly by telecoms, down 0.8%, consumer staples, off 0.6%, and consumer discretionary, trailing 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 jumped to a fresh record on Wednesday after a reading on wholesale prices unexpectedly declined, a welcome development for investors clamoring for a Federal Reserve rate cut next week to boost the economy.
Oracle shares led the gains with a more than 30% surge following an eye-popping forecast tied to artificial intelligence.
The Dow Jones Industrials sank 61.1 to open the midweek session at 45,650.24
The broader index surged 41.67 points to 6,554.28.
The NASDAQ index hiked 103.74 points to 21,983.23, another new high.
Market sentiment was given a boost following the latest producer price index reading, which showed that wholesale prices fell 0.1% in August.
Economists polled by Dow Jones had estimated a 0.3% gain. Core PPI, which excludes food and energy prices, likewise declined 0.1%, while the Dow Jones forecast called for 0.3%.
The report serves as a positive sign regarding the state of inflation in the U.S. economy heading into Thursday’s more closely watched consumer price index reading.
Economists expect the CPI report to show monthly increases of 0.3%, according to Dow Jones. This includes the headline all-items index as well as the core reading that excludes volatile food and energy prices.
If this materializes, the annual headline CPI rate would be pushed up to 2.9%, though the core reading is expected to stay unchanged at 3.1%.
Prices for 10-year Treasury eked up Wednesday, lowering yields to 4.07% from Tuesday’s 4.08%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 66 cents to $63.29 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hiked $10.50 to $3,692.70 U.S. an ounce.
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