Canada's main stock index edged lower on Wednesday in the run-up to the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision for more clues on the central bank's rate-hike trajectory, while a drop in energy stocks kept gains in check.
The TSX slid 7.14 points to open Wednesday at 20,400.42
The Canadian dollar was unchanged at 73.42 cents U.S.
Utilities were led by a $1.69, or 3.6%, gain in Brookfield Infrastructure to $48.26, after the company beat quarterly fund-from-operation estimates.
Shares of Aritzia plunged $9.03, or 21%, to $34.07, after at least three brokerages downgraded the design house stock following its quarterly results.
Barrick Gold gained 38 cents, or 1.4%, to $27.35, as higher metal prices helped the gold miner beat expectations for first-quarter profit.
Loblaw Companies lost $3.14, or 2.4%, to $125.52 after the retailer's first-quarter profit fell compared to a year earlier.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 2.62 points to 604.81.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground, with utilities gaining 1.5%, health-care haler 1.3%, and gold shinier 0.7%.
The five laggards were weighed by energy, slumping 1.7%, consumer discretionary stocks, fading 1.2%, and consumer staples, off 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 rose slightly Wednesday as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision.
The Dow Jones Industrials faltered 24.04 points to 33,660.17.
The broader index gained 4.13 points to 4,123.71.
The NASDAQ Composite was in the plus column 30.6 points to 12,111.11.
Shares of PacWest gained 7% after losing nearly 28% the prior day. Western Alliance shares were also up 2.6%.
The Fed is scheduled to release its latest policy announcement at 2 p.m. ET. Chair Jerome Powell is also set to hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Data from the CME Group’s FedWatch tool shows traders are pricing in an 86% chance the Fed raises rates by 25 basis points. Wall Street will also look for clues on whether the central bank will continue its rate hiking campaign, or if it will pause increases.
Payroll processing firm ADP reported private payrolls data on Wednesday, which showed that hiring at private companies unexpectedly swelled in April by more than double of what economists had expected. The surge suggests that the labor market remains hot despite the Fed’s attempts to cool hiring and wage growth.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury moved up, lowering yields to 3.38% from Tuesday’s 3.42%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices skidded $2.77 to $68.89 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices recovered $10.40 to $2,033.70U.S. an ounce.
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