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