Canada's main stock index opened lower on Wednesday, with technology and financial shares leading declines, as investors fretted over the prospect of aggressive policy tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve to tackle inflation.
The TSX Composite Index let go of 128.91 points to begin the midweek session at 21,801.92.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.10 cents to 79.99 cents U.S.
The United States and its allies were set to impose fresh sanctions on Russian banks and officials and ban new investment in Russia over civilian killings in northern Ukraine, which President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described as "war crimes."
Russia denied targeting civilians.
The Kremlin said on Wednesday peace talks with Kyiv were not progressing as rapidly or energetically as it would like.
Berenberg raised the target price on Endeavour Mining to $47.00 from $42.00. Endeavour shares caught a dime to $30.96.
Scotiabank cut the target price Torex Gold Resources to $22.00 from $24.00. Torex shares acquired 12 cents to $14.87.
ATB Capital Markets resumed coverage on Valens Company with an outperform rating and a price target of $9.50. Valens shares docked six cents, or 3.1%, to $1.86.
The Ford government in Ontario plans to raise the hourly minimum wage by 50 Canadian cents beginning in October, in what would be the second hike in an election year.
Economically speaking, Western University’s IVEY School of Business released its Purchasing Managers Index, which shot up in March to 74.2 from 60.6 in February, and compared favourably with the 72.9 figure in March 2021.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gave up 11.18 points, or 1.3%, to 880.05.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower in the first hour, with information technology down 4.2%, industrials sliding 1.7%, and consumer discretionary stocks off 1.6%.
The five gainers were led by health-care, up 1.8%, gold, shinier by 1%, and communications, crackling higher 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks dipped for a second day on Wednesday and rates soared to new heights as investors bet the Federal Reserve is about to aggressively tighten policy to fight inflation, and in turn slow the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrials crumbled 233.45 to 34,407.73.
The S&P 500 slumped 55.96 points, or 1.2%, to 4,469.16
The NASDAQ Composite fell 338.91 points, or 2.4%, to 13,865.26.
Tech shares fell again on Wednesday following Tuesday’s losses, as investors rotated out of the group and braced for higher rates to slow the economy.
Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Tesla contributed to the sector’s declines and led the NASDAQ to fall again Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Twitter shed 3% after rallying this week amid news that Elon Musk purchased a large stake in the company, and chipmakers Nvidia and Marvell Technology continued their descent on Wednesday, falling about 3%. As the Federal Reserve hikes rates investors have begun searching for stocks with stable profits and shying away from those offering future growth.
Utilities, health-care and consumer staples sectors continued to climb Wednesday, with Amgen, Merck and Johnson & Johnson all rising about 2%. Consumer staples such as Walmart and Procter & Gamble also inched slightly higher along with telecom giant Verizon.
Investors await minutes from the Fed’s most-recent meeting slated for release Wednesday afternoon, which could impact investors’ outlook and offer new clues to the Fed’s plan to reduce its balance sheet.
It comes after comments from Fed officials knocked down stocks on Tuesday. The minutes come from last month’s meeting when the central bank raised rates and indicated six more hikes were coming this year.
Treasury prices fell as yields spiked to 2.61%, from Tuesday’s 2.55%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 41 cents to $102.37 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices picked up $3.40 to $1,930.90 U.S. an ounce.
Stocks Fall for 2nd Straight Day
