By Ketki Saxena
Investing.com -- At 10:10 a.m in Toronto, the S&P/TSX Composite Index was at 18,744.33 points, down 0.50% shortly after the opening bell as investors weigh the mounting indicators of an incoming recession, and await minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting last month. The minutes are due to be released at 2 p.m. ET, and are expected to be hawkish.
The TSX was also further pressured by losses in crude, getting off to a slower start today than U.S. benchmarks.
Crude reversed moderate gains from earlier this morning as worries of an economic slowdown and slowing demand overshadow supply tightness. Worries of recession-driven demand destruction were exacerbated by news of skyrocketing Covid cases in China, and possible new lockdowns in Shanghai.
Supply pressure has also eased somewhat following the abrupt end to the strike by Norweigian oil-workers following government intervention. All oil and gas fields affected by the strike are expected to be back in full operation within a couple of days,
Gold prices meanwhile continued to drop following a decline of over 2% yesterday that took bullion to a 9-month low. Gold prices are being kept under pressure by a strong dollar, with the dollar index reaching two-decade highs.
Bond yields meanwhile rose after days of pullbacks, the Vix rose, and the contagion in crypto continued. Crypto platform Voyager Digital announced early this morning it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States in order to restructure. Voyager has recently suffered due to its ties to the recently collapsed Three Arrows Capital hedge fund, in addition to broader market volatility.
Here’s a snapshot of markets at the open:
Indices:
- S&P/TSX 60: -0.82%
- S&P/TSX Venture: -0.60%
- S&P 500: -0.08%
- Dow Jones: -0.16%
- Nasdaq: -0.07%
- CBOE Volatility Index: +1.05%
Commodity Futures:
- Crude: -1.35% at 98.16
- Brent: -1.05% at 101.69
- Natural Gas: -0.87% at 5.475
- Gold Futures: -0.53% at 1754.55
- Copper: -1.06% at 3.3788
Bonds and Currencies:
- Canada 5 year: +0.065 points at 3.013%
- Canada 10 year: +0.040 points at 3.116%
- United States 10-Year: +0.007 points at 2.818%
- US Dollar Index Futures: +0.43% at 106.99
- USD/CAD: +0.08% at 1.3042
Cryptocurrencies: