Dec 12, 2024 (Baystreet.ca via COMTEX) --
Canada's main stock index opened lower on Thursday, hurt by mining shares, after the previous session's gains following the Bank of Canada's interest rate cut, while investors assessed U.S. economic data.
The TSX fell 126.21 points to begin Thursday at 25,531.49.
The Canadian dollar hiked 0.07 cents to 70.61 cents U.S.
The central bank slashed its policy rates by 50 basis points on Wednesday to help boost the country's slower economic growth.
However, Governor Tiff Macklem emphasized further reductions would be more gradual and warned that potential new tariffs under U.S. President-elect Donald Trump represented "a major new uncertainty."
In corporate news, non-paper containers & packaging firm Transcontinental missed fourth-quarter revenue estimates on Wednesday. Transcontinental shares
In economic news, building permits decreased by $399.1 million (-3.1%) to $12.6 billion in October.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 2.79 points to 613.81.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups lost ground in the first hour, weighed most by energy, skidding 1.6%, materials, off 1.4%, and gold, down 1.3%.
The two gainers proved to be consumer staples, up 0.3%, while information technology, nicking up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks slid Thursday as investors digested a hotter-than-expected producer price index reading for November.
The Dow Jones Industrial index gave back 24.33 points to begin Thursday at 44,124.23.
The S&P 500 index dipped 8.49 points to 6,075.70
The tech-heavy NASDAQ let go of 53.32 points to 19,981.58
Tech shares led the decline, with Nvidia losing more than 2%. Meta Platforms, Alphabet and Amazon were also slightly lower.
Software giant Adobe declined more than 12% following the company's weaker-than-expected 2025 outlook.
The producer price index, which tracks wholesale prices, increased 0.4% last month. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a 0.2% increase on a monthly basis.
This follows November's consumer price index report, which came in line with economists' estimates and has prompted investors to anticipate another rate cut from the Federal Reserve at its policy meeting next week.
Fed funds futures trading data reflects a 98% likelihood that central bank policymakers will lower rates next week.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sagged, raising yields to 4.29% from Wednesday's 4.27%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices descended 90 cents to $69.39 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold settled $44.30 an ounce to $2,712.40 U.S.
COMTEX_460777073/2559/2024-12-12T10:58:04
