Equities in Canada’s largest centre fought tenaciously above breakeven midday Monday, propelled by tech and health issues, as investors looked nervously forward to the newest from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The TSX Composite recovered 3.61 points to pause for lunch hour Monday at 19,950.68.
The Canadian dollar demurred 0.07 cents at 73.15 cents U.S.
Imperial Oil shed $1.49, or 2.2%, to $66.73, and slipped to the bottom of the TSX after the oil and gas company announced preliminary results of its substantial issuer bid.
The latest U.S. inflation reading will be the final pit-stop before the Fed's interest rate decision on Wednesday, where the central bank is expected to deliver a half-percentage-point rate hike.
The European Central Bank and the Bank of England are also expected to raise rates by 50 basis points this week.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 0.6 points to 579.22.
Seven of the 12 subgroups were in positive country, information technology soaring 2%, health-care improving 1.5%, and energy higher by 1.2%.
The five laggards were weighed most by financials, dipping 0.8%, gold, down 0.7%, and communications descending 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped Monday, clawing back some of the steep losses from the previous week, as traders looked ahead to a highly anticipated Federal Reserve meeting and new inflation data.
The 30-stock index hiked 248.11 points to 33,665.15
The S&P 500 gathered 19.82 points to 3,954.20
The NASDAQ Composite Index surged 34.31 points to 11,038.40
Wall Street is coming off a rocky week that saw all three major averages lose ground. The Dow had its worst weekly loss since September, dumping 2.8%, and S&P 500 fell 3.4%. The NASDAQ dropped 4%.
A slew of dealmaking activity boosted sentiment. Coupa Software and Horizon Therapeutics were among biggest movers on Monday after the companies announced they’ve agreed to be bought.
The moves come as investors remain focused on inflation. On Tuesday, the November consumer price index will be released and traders will be looking for a sign that inflation is slowing.
The Federal Reserve has a two-day meeting starting the same day. The central bank is expected to announce another rate hike on Wednesday, though traders are anticipating a smaller move than in recent months.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were unchanged, keeping yields at Friday’s 3.59%.
Oil prices picked up $2.22 to $73.24 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices lost $16.50 to $1,794.20 U.S. an ounce.
