By Ketki Saxena
Investing.com – In Toronto, the S&P/TSX Composite closed at 21,187.84 points, or 0.03% higher in the day’s trading.
Key benchmarks including consumer discretionary, financials, metals and mining, and industrials closed in the green, offsetting losses in the energy sector. The Canadian Energy Index was down 1.76% today following oil’s continued plunge and uncertainty in natural gas markets.
Energy
As of 4:00 p.m ETCrude Oil WTI Futures were trading at 96.62, or down 7.27% so far today. Natural Gas Futures were at 4.613, or down 0.97% so far today. Oil plunged again today, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that Russia now supports the resumption of the Iran nuclear deal soon as possible. Last week, U.S-Iran talks that would allow the latter to resume legitimate exports of its substantial oil reserves were paused “due to external factors,” likely relating to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Negotiations to revive the Iran Nuclear deal were complicated by Russia’s demands that recent trade sanctions do not impact its trade with Iran.
Energy prices faced further downward pressure on the potential progress of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, as well as a travel ban in China - the top importer of oil, LNG, and coal globally. Natural gas investors continue to price in the risk-premium of a possible EU ban on Russian Natural gas.
Metals
Safe haven metals gold and silver were lower today, as yield-generating treasuries are increasingly the safe-havens of choice ahead of the anticipated rate hike. Gold was at $1,919.05 or down 2.13% in the day’s trading, while silver was at $25.08, or down 2.13% in the day’s trading. Copper was down 0.36%, while palladium just stemmed its recent decline after all time highs.
Currencies and Bonds
The CAD/USD pair was slightly higher at $0.78 to a loonie.
Yields on Government of Canada's benchmark 10-Year and 5-Year bonds were at 2.19% and 1.98% respectively.
In New York
U.S. indices rallied ahead of the Fed’s rate announcement tomorrow, with a 25 basis point hike widely expected and priced in by markets. The S&P 500 was up 0.02%, the DJI was 0.0175% higher, and the Nasdaq was up 0.03%. The tech heavy index saw the greatest rebound, possibly incentivizing dip buyers after a recent selloff in which markets aggressively priced in concerns of inflation and overvaluation.
All currencies USD, unless noted otherwise