Baystreet.ca - Canada's main stock index opened higher on Wednesday as markets cheered on softer-than-expected inflation data from the U.S. that cemented rate cut bets for this year, along with a jump in information technology shares.The TSX Composite Index pushed ahead 12.39 points to kick off Wednesday trading at 22,255.73.
The Canadian dollar nicked up 0.01 cents at 73.25 cents U.S. Wednesday is a busy day on the economic calendar, with housing starts measuring 240,200 for April, compared to 242,300 in the prior-year quarter, while manufacturing sales declined 2.1% in March, mainly driven by lower sales of petroleum and coal products as well as motor vehicles. Sales of machinery posted the largest increase.
The Canadian Real Estate Association told us Wednesday national home sales declined 1.7% month-over-month in April. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) monthly activity came in 10.1% above April 2023.
ON BAYSTREET The TSX Venture Exchange shed 2.15 points to begin the mid-week session at 597.73. The 12 TSX subgroups were split down the middle, with real-estate ahead 1.1%, while communications cleared breakeven 0.9%, and utilities hiked 0.8%. The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by energy, off 1.2%, while materials lost 0.7%, and gold faltered 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET The S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite popped to record highs Wednesday, adding to their strong 2024 performances, as a lighter-than-expected U.S. consumer inflation report.The Dow Jones Industrials popped 148.72 points to 39,706.83. The S&P 500 surged 28.45 points to 5,275.13. The tech-heavy index climbed 95.05 points to 16,606.23.
Market leaders such as Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) popped upon the reading, with shares of the GPU manufacturer rising 1%.The CPI rose 0.3% for the month of April, less than the Dow Jones estimate for a 0.4% monthly increase. The gauge increased by 3.4% year over year, in line with expectations. Monthly and yearly numbers for core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, were both in line as well.
The report boosted expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts in the near future. Fed funds futures trading data now suggests a 51.7% likelihood that the U.S. central bank will ease rates at its September meeting, according to CME FedWatch Tool. This is up from Tuesday’s 44.9% chance of a rate cut the same month.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury rocketed, lowering yields to 4.38% from Tuesday’s 4.44%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Oil prices sank $1.16 to $76.86 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices gained $8.40 to $2,368.30.