Bay Street Seen Opening On Mixed Note; BoC Policy In Focus

Canadian shares are likely to open on a mixed note on Wednesday with investors awaiting the Canadian central bank’s policy announcement, and reacting to mixed commodities markets.

The Bank of Canada, which will announce its monetary policy at 9:45 AM ET, is widely expected to leave its key rate unchanged at 5%. The bank’s views about the economy and future policy move will be in focus.

The dollar held steady ahead of testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and the ECB rate decision.

At 10 AM ET, the Ivey PMI reading for February is due. The Ivey Purchasing Managers Index in Canada rose to 56.5 in January 2024, up from 56.3 in December 2023.

Africa Oil Corp. (AOI.TO) announced a strategic farm down agreement signed with units of TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy for the Orange Basin Block 3B/4B, offshore South Africa. The transaction value is up to $46.8 million to Africa Oil.

The Canadian market ended flat on Tuesday after stocks turned in a mixed performance as investors awaited the Canadian central bank’s monetary policy announcement.

Technology and communications stocks fell, while energy stocks found support despite weak crude oil prices.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which opened slightly down but climbed to 21,622.99 subsequently, dropped to a low of 21,489.69 in the final hour before settling at 21,525.93 with a loss of 5.14 points or 0.02%.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday, with Hong Kong markets leading regional gains on hopes of support measures from Beijing during its week-long annual session of parliament.

European stocks are slightly higher ahead of U.K.’s spring budget. Investors are also looking ahead to the European Central Bank’s policy announcement tomorrow.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are up $0.81 or 1.04% at $78.95 a barrel.

Gold futures are down $1.10 or 0.08% at $2,140.80 an ounce, while Silver futures are up $0.016 or 0.07% at 23.995 an ounce.

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