Bay Street Seen Opening On Slightly Volatile Note

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares may open on a volatile note Wednesday morning, with investors reacting to quarterly results from Royal Bank of Canada and the National Bank of Canada, and weak commodity prices.

With the focus on more earnings, including from AI darling NVIDIA, and upcoming U.S. inflation readings, the mood is likely to remain somewhat cautious for much of the day's trading session.

Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) reported a net income of $4.5 billion for the quarter ended July 31, 2024, up $626 million or 16% from the prior year. Diluted EPS was $3.09, up 13% over the same period. The bank reported adjusted net income and adjusted diluted EPS of $4.7 billion and $3.26 for the latest quarter, up 18% and 15%, respectively, from the prior year.

National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) reported a net income of $1,033 million for the third-quarter of its current financial year, which is up 24% from $830 million it reported in the year-ago quarter. Third-quarter diluted earnings per share stood at $2.89 compared to $2.33 in the third quarter of 2023.

CGI Inc. (GIB-A.TO) announced that its U.S. operating subsidiary, CGI Federal has bagged two contract awards from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The contracts have a combined potential value of US$119 million.

The Canadian market ended weak on Tuesday after languishing in negative territory right through the day's session, with weak results from Bank of Montreal and lower commodity prices hurting sentiment.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which dropped to 23,185.74 in early trades, losing more than 150 points in the process, ended the session with a loss of 89.01 points or 0.38% at 23,259.96.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday as investors eagerly awaited earnings from market darling Nvidia, which could affect shares of artificial intelligence and other prominent technology stocks.

Investors also awaited the release of the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge later this week for signals on U.S. interest-rate reductions.

European stocks are broadly higher Wednesday even as the UK market underperforms. The undertone is fairly positive ahead of results from Nvidia later today.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $1.30 or 1.72% at $74.23 a barrel.

Gold futures are down $14.40 or 0.56% at $2,538.50 an ounce, while Silver futures are lower by $0.525 or 1.75% at $29.455 an ounce.