Futures tracking Canada's main stock index rose on Wednesday as oil prices and bond yields paused after a recent surge, while investors braced for a widely anticipated interest-rate hike from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The TSX flopped 120.46 points to close Tuesday at 35,582.07.
The Canadian dollar eked downward 0.02 cents to 71.80 cents U.S.
Futures inched up 0.15% Wednesday morning.
Markets, betting that Fed policymakers will lift the benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage points to a 3.75% to 4% range, signal further tightening ahead. The policy decision is due at 2:00 p.m. ET.
In other news, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union is opening the door for Canada to become its first "associate member," a status that is not set out in the bloc's treaties.
The EU and Canada will work together across sectors including manufacturing, AI, critical minerals and energy, ?she said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney's trip follows a historic breakdown in Canada-U.S. relations after trade talks collapsed last month, sparking a series of tit-for-tat tariff measures.
On the economic lineup, total monthly housing starts for all areas in Canada decreased 5% in August to 229,000 from July's 229,400.
In July, building permits decreased by 17.3%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 18.89 points, or 2.1%, Tuesday to 900.98.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equity futures edged higher Wednesday ahead of a pivotal interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve that could mark the beginning of a new hiking cycle over the next few months.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials added 118 points, or 0.2%, to 52,644.
Futures for the S&P 500 gained 18.5 points, or 0.2%, to 7,674.25.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite zoomed 131 points, or 0.5%. to 29,377.75.
Futures markets were pricing in a quarter-point hike for Wednesday with 92.5% odds.
Odds of an additional quarter-point hike were 45% for the Fed’s October meeting and 30% for the Fed’s December meeting. The current target rate range is 3.5% to 3.75%.
The 12-month rate on the consumer price index came in at 3.4% in August, marking a cooling from the recent high of 4.2% in May.
On a month-over-month basis, CPI rose 0.4% last month, in line with expectations, though core inflation, which removes the more volatile categories of food and energy, rose 0.3%, which was more than expected.
SK Hynix is in talks with Intel to manufacture its memory chips in the U.S. for the first time, Reuters reported Wednesday, sending shares of both companies higher in premarket trading.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index recovered 0.7% Wednesday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng pointed upwards 0.2%.
Oil prices dropped $2.39 to $103.44 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hiked $55.70 to $4,388.50 U.S an ounce.
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