Equities in Canada’s largest centre were on track to open lower on Wednesday as crude oil prices fell, while investors were also wary of big bets ahead of March economic growth data.
The TSX stumbled 228.25 points, or 1.1% to conclude trading Tuesday at 19,739.70.
June futures on the S&P/TSX index plunged 0.5% Wednesday morning.
The Canadian dollar lost 0.02 cents to 73.30 cents U.S.
National Bank of Canada posted lower second-quarter earnings as the lender set aside higher provisions.
Glencore Plc is working on a potential improvement to its bid for Teck Resources, and could announce it as soon as the coming weeks, according to a report.
On the economic scene, Statistics Canada reports real gross domestic product rose 0.8% in the first quarter, after posting no change in the previous quarter.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 9.89 points, or 1.6% Tuesday, to 596.96.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures were lower Wednesday as investors kept an eye on the federal debt ceiling debate in Washington ahead of the final trading day of May.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials sank 103 points, or 0.3%, at 32,986.
Futures for the S&P 500 let go of 19.5 points, or 0.5% to 4,195.50.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite faltered 67.5 points, or 0.5%, to 14,329.25.
Heading into the final trading day of May, the NASDAQ is up nearly 6.5% for the month. The S&P 500, however, is up only about 0.9%, while the Dow has fallen 3.1%.
The outperformance of the tech-heavy NASDAQ is due in large part to the excitement around artificial intelligence, which briefly pushed
Nvidia’s market cap above $1 trillion on Tuesday. However, many on Wall Street are worried that the market’s strength has been too narrow.
One factor that has weighed on the market in recent weeks is the fight over the debt ceiling. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced a deal over the weekend to cap federal baseline spending for two years and raise the debt ceiling, but the agreement has not yet been ratified.
The deal cleared a major test Tuesday night after advancing to the House floor following a seven-to-six vote in the House Rules Committee.
The floor vote is expected to take place around 8:30 p.m. ET Wednesday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 parted with 1.4% Wednesday, while markets in Hong Kong, with the Hang Seng index entered bear market territory, plunging 1.9%.
Oil prices slumped $2.30 to $67.16 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices brightened $3.50 to $1,961.50 U.S. an ounce.
