(INCLUDES MORE MACROECONOMIC NUMBERS)
Futures Subdued Ahead of U.S. Fed Decision
Constellaion, D2L in Focus
Stock index futures in Canada were muted on Wednesday, as crude prices fell, ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy outcome that is likely to signal a quicker end to the central bank's stimulus measures.
The S&P/TSX Composite dumped 99.88 points by the closing bell Tuesday to 20,648.57.
Futures were flat Wednesday.
Scotiabank raised the price target on Constellation Software to $2,500 from $2,400
National Bank of Canada initiated coverage on D2L with an outperform rating
JP Morgan raised the target price on Lithium Americas to $53.00 from $49.00
The Canadian dollar dished off 0.06 cents to 77.66 cents U.S. early Wednesday.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that Canada's annual inflation rate remained at 4.7% in November, an 18-year high, amid the continued impact of supply chain disruptions.
As well, the agency reported manufacturing sales rose 4.3% in October, on higher sales of motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts. Excluding these two industries, manufacturing sales increased 1.7%.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported Wednesday that housing starts rose to 301,279 units in November, beating analyst expectations of 234,300 starts, and up from a revised 238,366 units in October.
National home sales rose 0.6% on a month-over-month basis in November, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.
CBC News is reporting Canada is expected to toughen restrictions on international travel with new measures to be announced on Wednesday as it looks to limit the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
Canada on Tuesday cut its deficit forecast for this fiscal year and pledged new funds to fight the Omicron coronavirus variant, while spending promised in this year's election campaign would likely be put in a full budget early next year.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 15.92 points, or 1.8%, Tuesday to 877.66.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures were little changed in early morning trading on Wednesday as investors readied for Wednesday’s highly anticipated Federal Reserve decision.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials fell 13 points to 35,435.
Futures for the S&P 500 eked up 1.75 points to 4,629.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ subtracted two points to 15,920.25.
November’s retail sales data is slated to release at 8:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday. Economists polled by Dow Jones are expecting that retail sales rose 0.8% in November, compared to October’s growth of 1.7%, according to the Commerce Department.
The Fed will conclude its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday and the public will hear from central bank Chairman Jerome Powell at a 2:30 p.m. ET news conference.
The Fed is grappling with the highest inflation level in 39 years and the central bank is widely expected to announce an acceleration of the tapering of its bond-buying program, which was put in place during the pandemic to prop up the economy.
One survey predicts the Fed will double the pace of the taper to $30 billion at its December meeting, which would end the $120 billion in monthly asset purchases by about March. The central bank will then hike rates three times in each of the next two years, starting in June 2022, the survey respondents predict.
Overseas, markets in Japan, with the Nikkei 225 edged ahead 0.1% Wednesday, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropped 0.9%.
Oil prices dropped 90 cents to $69.83 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $1.50 to $1,770.80 U.S. an ounce.
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