Canada's main stock index was set for its biggest single-day drop in more than a week on Wednesday, weighed by a sharp drop in mining shares, while investors assessed the Bank of Canada's latest comments and awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decision.
The TSX hurtled earthward 450.05 points, or 1.4%, to break for lunch Wednesday at 32,479.04
The dollar inched down 0.07 cents to 72.96 cents U.S.
Energy shares inched higher, after Iranian media reports that facilities in South Pars and Asaluyeh had come under attack lifted oil prices.
Among notable movers, Boyd Group slumped $25.71, or 11.6% to $196.38, after the collision repair operator missed earnings estimates for the fourth quarter.
Alimentation Couche-Tard also missed analysts' expectations for third-quarter revenue, falling $4.62, or 5.6%, to $78.34, and weighing on the consumer staples sector
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported foreign investors purchased $46.7 billion of Canadian securities in January, led by an unprecedented monthly investment in the Canadian bond market.
Meanwhile, Canadian investors acquired $11.4 billion of foreign securities, following an investment of $13.1 billion in the previous month.
The Canadian Real Estate Association reported the number of home sales recorded over Canadian MLS® Systems dipped 1.3% on a month-over-month basis in February.
Lastly, the Bank of Canada did as expected, holding its trendsetting interest rate at 2.25% for March
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange plummeted 22.3 points, or 2.2%, to 988.76.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower midday as gold faded 5.3%, materials shrank 5%, and consumer staples shed 2%.
Only energy stood out against the negative tide, inching up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Wednesday after a hotter-than-expected producer price index reading and as traders awaited the Federal Reserve’s rate policy decision.
The Dow Jones Industrials dumped 422.34 points to observe noon EDT at 46,570.92
The S&P 500 index slumped 36.8 points to 6,679.29.
The NASDAQ stumbled 124.5 points to 22,355.07.
With respect to earnings, eyes are on Micron Technology, as the chipmaker is slated to release its latest quarterly results after the bell Wednesday. The stock has been on a tear this year, rallying nearly 62% amid soaring demand for high-bandwidth memory.
The producer price index — which tracks the change in wholesale prices — rose 0.7% in February, well above the 0.3% economists polled by Dow Jones had estimated. The report shows that inflation was already in a precarious spot prior to the Iran war breaking out — an event that has heightened stagflation fears amid rising oil prices.
Investors are now looking ahead to the Fed’s interest rate decision expected on Wednesday. Markets are expecting the central bank to keep interest rates unchanged in a range between 3.5% to 3.75%.
Traders will be watching for any guidance from Fed Chair Jerome Powell on whether oil prices could impact future monetary policy
Prices for the 10-year Treasury settled, raising yields to 4.23% from Tuesday’s 4.20%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $2.02 to $98.23 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices stumbled $137.60 to $4,870.60 U.S. an ounce.
