Canada's main stock index opened lower on Wednesday as industrial and financial stocks slipped and investors worried that aggressive policy tightening by central banks would stifle economic growth.
The S&P/TSX docked 60.15 points to begin the mid-week session at 20,868.06
The Canadian dollar moved tentatively up 0.08 cents to 79.84 cents U.S.
D.A. Davidson cut the target price on BRP to $122.00 from $134.00. BRP dropped $3.11, or 3.5%, to $85.79.
Cormark Securities raised the target price on Vitalhub to $5.00 from $4.75. Vitalhub shares were unchanged at $3.06.
Canaccord Genuity started coverage on Wishpond Technologies with a speculative buy rating. Wishpond shares were stationery at 77 cents.
Canada's budgetary watchdog said on Tuesday prices in this country are rising at their quickest pace in 31 years, but that is not yet feeding in to a wage spiral, with inflation still expected to return to target in coming years.
Internationally, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Wednesday cut its 2022 global growth forecast to 2.8% from 3.2%, a day after the World Bank slashed its estimates by nearly a third to 2.9%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 3.12 points, to begin the session at 725.89.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative in the first hour, with industrials down 0.8%, gold off 0.7%, and financials sliding 0.5%.
The five gainers were led by consumer discretionary and energy stocks, each up 0.3%, while information technology eked ahead 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were mixed on Wednesday as investors kept an eye on the bond market and signs of an economic slowdown.
The Dow Jones Industrials slid 93.19 points to start Wednesday at 33,086.95.
The S&P 500 lost 6.54 points to 4,154.14.
The NASDAQ Composite gathered 39.73 points to 12,214.56.
Overseas, Credit Suisse issued a profit warning for the second quarter, citing tighter monetary policy and the war in Ukraine. Target, which issued its own warning on Tuesday, was under pressure again on Wednesday after being downgraded to neutral from buy by Bank of America.
Meanwhile, the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s GDPNow tracker now shows a growth rate of just 0.9% for the second quarter, down from 1.3% last week. Mortgage demand hit its lowest level in 22 years last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The NASDAQ was bolstered by Chinese tech stocks, including a jump of more than 3% for JD.com, and Moderna, which rose 3% after its modified COVID-19 booster shot showed a stronger response to new variants.
Semiconductor stocks struggled on Wednesday, with Intel falling more than 4% after management comments at a Bank of America conference led a Citi analyst to predict a negative pre-announcement for the second quarter. Shares of Marvell Technology fell 2%.
On the earnings front, shares of Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings fell more than 1% in early trading after the discount retailer missed estimates for its first quarter. Campbell Soup, however, moved higher by about 3% after a stronger-than-expected quarterly report.
Treasury prices shed strength, raising yields to 3.01% from Tuesday’s 2.98%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 48 cents to $119.89 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices brightened $2.50 to $1,854.60 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
