Bay Street Seen Opening On Firm Note; Inflation Data In Focus

(RTTNews) - Higher Canadian and U.S. futures, firm crude oil prices and positive European markets indicate a bright start for the Canadian market on Wednesday.

Still, the data on inflation is likely to be the major trigger for stocks this morning.

Data on Canadian inflation for the month of November is due at 8:30 AM ET. Canada's annual inflation rate was at 6.9% in October of 2022, remaining unchanged from the prior month and in line with market expectations. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose by 0.7%, picking up from 0.1% in September.

Canada's core consumer prices, excluding volatile items such as food and energy, increased 5.8 percent from a year earlier in October of 2022, easing from a 6.0 percent gain in September.

Canadian stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday, regaining some ground following recent weakness. The strength among Canadian stocks came as some traders looked up to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 106.13 points or 0.6 percent to 19,306.89 after ending Monday's trading at a nearly two-month closing low.

Asian shares ended mixed on Wednesday as recession worries persisted, and China continued to grapple with a surge in the number of new COVID-19 cases.

The Japanese yen weakened slightly after having jumped to a four-month high versus the dollar on Tuesday triggered by a surprise Bank of Japan policy tweak.

European stocks bounced back from a six-week low on Wednesday, with consumer discretionary firms rising heading into the year-end holiday period.

The major European markets are all up in positive territory with notable gains. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 is climbing 1%, Germany's DAX is surging 0.87% and France's CAC 40 is rising 1.2%. The pan European Stoxx 600 is advancing nearly 1%.

In commodities trading, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are up $1.73 or 2.27% at $77.82 a barrel.

Gold futures are down slightly at $1,824.70 an ounce, while Silver futures are lower by $0.111 or 0.46% at $24.160 an ounce.