Bay Street Likely To Open On Mixed Note; Fed Policy Eyed

(RTTNews) - It's likely to be a mixed start for Canadian shares Wednesday morning, with investors tracking commodity prices and earnings updates, and looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement.

Cenovus Energy Inc (CVE.TO) reported first-quarter net earnings of $1,176 million, compared with $636 million in the year-ago quarter.

Loblaw Companies Ltd. (L.TO) reported adjusted net earnings of $537 million for the first-quarter of 2024, up $32 million or 6.3%, compared to year-ago quarter.

CGI Inc (GIB.A.TO) reported net earnings of $426.9 million for the second-quarter, up 1.8% year-over-year.

Fortis Inc. (FTS.TO) reported first-quarter net earnings of $459 million, or $0.93 per common share, up from $437 million, or $0.90 per common share in the year-ago quarter.

A report on Canadian manufacturing activity in the month of April is due at 9:30 AM ET. The S&P Global Canada Manufacturing PMI edged 0.1 point higher from the previous month to 49.8 in March of 2024, pointing to the eleventh consecutive contraction in the Canadian factory activity.

The Canadian market suffered one of its worst setbacks in several months on Tuesday as stocks tumbled on concerns about growth and interest rate outlook, and weak commodity prices, ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down by 297.08 points or 1.35% at 21,714.54.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $1.39 or 1.7% at $80.54 a barrel.

Gold futures are up $4.00 or 0.17% at $2,306.90 an ounce, while Silver futures are gaining $0.101 or nearly 0.4% at $26.755 an ounce.