Bay Street Likely To Open On Positive Note; Fed Policy In Focus

RTTNews | vor 1050 Tagen

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares are likely to open on a positive note Wednesday morning, tracking positive global cues and higher bullion prices.

The focus will be on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, due at 2 PM ET.

The U.S. central bank is widely expected to hike interest rate by 50 basis points. Several analysts including those at Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase expect the Fed to hike rate by 75 basis points following last week's very hot inflation numbers.

On the Canadian economic front, data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation showed housing starts in the country jumped by 8% over a month earlier to 267,330 units in April 2022.

The Canadian market turned in a weak performance on Tuesday, extending losses to a fifth straight session. The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which dropped to a low of 19,435.02, ended the session with a loss of 194.05 points or 0.98% at 19,548.51, extending losses to a fifth session.

Asian stocks ended on a mixed note on Wednesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision later in the day for clues on how aggressive the U.S. central bank intends to be in the coming months.

European markets are up firmly in positive territory with investors indulging in some bargain hunting ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement.

In commodities trading, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures are down $0.56 or 0.47% at $118.37 a barrel.

Gold futures are gaining $18.70 or 1.03% at $1,832.20 an ounce, while Silver futures are up $0.511 or 2.44% at $21.465 an ounce.

TSX Down Nearly 1% Despite Coming Off Early Lows

Despite staging a fairly strong recovery after an early setback, the Canadian market remains firmly down in negative territory a little past noon on Wednesday, with stocks from energy, technology and healthcare sectors reeling under selling pressure. Disappointing Canadian and U.S. GDP data, and Trump administration's policy uncertainty are weighing on sentiment.

RTTNews | vor 19 Minuten

German Inflation At 6-Month Low, Core Figure Accelerates First Time In 4 Months

Germany's consumer price inflation slowed for a second straight month in April to its lowest level in six months as energy prices continued to fall, but the core price growth accelerated for the first time since December as services cost growth increased, which warrants caution from the European Central Bank that is set to reduce interest rates further.

RTTNews | vor 28 Minuten

U.S. Pending Home Sales Unexpectedly Spike 6.1% March

Partly reflecting a substantial increase in the South, the National Association of Realtors released a report on Wednesday showing an unexpected spike by pending home sales in the U.S. in the month of March. NAR said its pending home sales index surged by 6.1 percent to 76.5 in March after jumping by 2.1 percent to a revised to 72.1 in February.

RTTNews | vor 2Std 3 Minuten

U.S. Consumer Prices Virtually Unchanged In March, In Line With Estimates

A closely watched report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday showed U.S. consumer prices were virtually unchanged in the month of March. The Commerce Department said its personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index edged down by less than a tenth of a percent in March after rising by an upwardly revised 0.4 percent in February.

RTTNews | vor 2Std 6 Minuten

Chicago Business Barometer Drops More Than Expected In April

MNI Indicators released a report on Wednesday showing its reading on Chicago-area business activity fell by more than expected in the month of April.

RTTNews | vor 2Std 49 Minuten

U.S. GDP Unexpectedly Dips In First Quarter As Imports Soar

The Commerce Department released a report on Wednesday showing the U.S. economy unexpectedly shrank in the first quarter of 2025. The report said real gross domestic product fell by 0.3 percent in the first quarter after surging by 2.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024. Economists had expected GDP to rise by 0.4 percent.

RTTNews | vor 2Std 58 Minuten

U.S. Private Sector Job Growth Falls Well Short Of Expectations In April

Payroll processor ADP released a report on Wednesday showing private sector employment in the U.S. increased by much less than expected in the month of April. ADP said private sector employment climbed by 62,000 jobs in April after surging by a downwardly revised 147,000 jobs in March.

RTTNews | vor 3Std 23 Minuten

Eurozone GDP Growth Gains Strength In Q1

Euro area economic growth accelerated in the first quarter as exports may have benefited from higher demand from the U.S. ahead of the imposition of higher trade tariffs. The quarterly growth in gross domestic product doubled to 0.4 percent from 0.2 percent seen in the fourth quarter of 2024, preliminary flash estimates from Eurostat showed on Wednesday.

RTTNews | vor 3Std 35 Minuten

EURUSD	1.13505	GBPUSD	1.33434	AUDUSD	0.63928
USDJPY	142.674	USDCAD	1.38115	USDCHF	0.82227

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Bay Street Likely To Open On Positive Note; Fed Policy In Focus