S&P/TSX composite edges down as energy and base metal sectors move lower

TORONTO –

Canada’s predominant inventory index edged decrease on Wednesday, weighed down by losses within the power and base steel shares, whereas U.S. inventory markets have been combined.

Greg Taylor, chief funding officer of Purpose Investments, mentioned the markets appear to be “waiting for the next big event” amid a reasonably quiet stretch of days.

“A lot of people are underinvested and cautious in the market and I think the market seems to be pretty resilient,” he mentioned.

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 3.85 factors at 20,680.83.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial common was down 79.62 factors at 33,897.01. The S&P 500 index was down 0.35 factors at 4,154.52, whereas the Nasdaq composite was up 3.82 factors at 12,157.23.

The U.Ok. reported inflation remained above 10 per cent for a seventh straight month earlier within the day, above the 9.8 per cent charge economists had forecast.

Taylor mentioned that will have been a think about why the markets began the day down earlier than regaining a few of their losses.

“There were concerns that with inflation being sticky … central banks are going to have to remain hawkish,” he mentioned.

“Overall, the market is looking for rate cuts in the second half of the year and if inflation stays higher, you can probably think those cuts are not going to happen.”

The Canadian greenback traded for 74.38 cents US, in contrast with 74.70 cents US on Tuesday.

The June crude contract was down US$1.66 at US$79.24 per barrel and the May pure gasoline contract was down 14 cents at US$2.22 per mmBTU (million British thermal items).

With oil buying and selling under US$80 per barrel on Wednesday, Taylor mentioned the potential of a summer time recession on the horizon and a slowdown in demand will seemingly weigh on the worth and “keep it from getting too far to the upside.”

He predicted the worth will seemingly settle within the US$70 to $80 per barrel vary within the close to time period.

“It’s going to be hard to see it really break out because of the concerns about the slowdown in demand going forward, and conversely, it doesn’t feel like it’s going to break much lower because OPEC started out saying that they’re going to support this price,” mentioned Taylor.

“So it’s kind of caught in this range. Oil’s had a pretty good run the last few years and the fact that you can hold around these levels, that’s still pretty good for (energy) companies.”

The June gold contract was down US$12.40 at US$2,007.30 an oz. and the May copper contract was down a penny at US$4.08 a pound.

Taylor famous that gold and copper shares are “pulling back a little bit,” reflecting “general weakness in some of the commodities.”

“But there’s no real reason. It seems markets are more just sideways right now than anything else,” he mentioned.

This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed April 19, 2023.