Canada's main stock index sustained 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 crumbled 616.42 points, or 1.9%, to close Wednesday at 32,312.67
The dollar inched down 0.19 cents to 72.85 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 $29.25, or 13.2% to $192.84, after the collision repair operator missed earnings estimates for the fourth quarter.
Alimentation Couche-Tard also missed analysts' expectations for third-quarter revenue, falling $4.27, or 5.2%, to $78.69, and weighing on the consumer staples sector.
Elsewhere in that sector, Premium Brands Holdings sank $3.28, or 3.4%, to $93.12.
Gold took a pounding, as NovaGold let go of $1.59, or 11.9%, to $11.74, while Seabridge Gold withered $5.23, or 12.4%, to $36.99.
In materials, Discovery Silver ditched $1.07, or 12%, to $7.88, while Orla Mining dropped $2.24, or 10.2%, to $19.78.
Energy tried to steer the market back into an upward direction, with Vermilion Energy surging 59 cents, or 3.5%, to $17.39, while Cenovus Energy acquired 60 cents, or 1.9%, to $32.88.
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 35.04 points, or 3.4%, to 976.02.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower on the day, as gold faded 5.8%, materials tunneled 5.4%, and consumer staples shed 2.2%.
Only energy stood out against the negative tide, taking on 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks sold off on Wednesday after new U.S. economic data as well as comments from the Federal Reserve chief stoked concerns about persistent inflation in the country.
The Dow Jones Industrials let go of 768.45 points, or 1.6%, to close Wednesday at 46,224.81, reaching a new low for the year. With its month-to-date drop now at more than 5%, the blue-chip index is on pace for its worst month since 2022.
The S&P 500 index sagged 91.33 points, or 1.4%, to 6,624.76.
The NASDAQ stumbled 327.11 points, or 1.5%, to 22,152.42.
The Fed kept its fed funds rate in a range between 3.5% to 3.75%, saying in its post-meeting statement that the “implications of developments in the Middle East for the U.S. economy are uncertain.”
The central bank signaled that it still expects one cut this year, however.
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.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury settled, zooming yields to 4.27% from Tuesday’s 4.20%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $2.40 to $98.61 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices stumbled $159.80 to $4,848.70 U.S. an ounce.
