By Ketki Saxena
Investing.com -- Canada's main stock index, the S&P/TSX Composite index tracked Wall Street lower as hotter-than-expected US services sector data fanned worries of sticky inflation and raised bets on the US Federal Reserve needing to keep interest rates higher for longer.
The TSX meanwhile was pressured by financials, after the Bank of Canada left its key overnight interest rate on hold at 5.00% - but reiterated that it remained prepared to hike rates further if needed.
The commodity-heavy Canadian index was also pressured by crude prices, which retreated from 10 month highs after the announced extension of OPEC+ oil cuts, as Fed fears and a stronger dollar weighed.
Canadian Stock Markets News
Enbridge Inc (TSX:ENB) announced that it will be purchasing three utilities from Dominion Energy Inc. in a US$9.4 billion deal, which, when completed will create North America’s largest natural gas provider. “The assets we are acquiring have long useful lives and natural gas utilities are ‘must-have’ infrastructure for providing safe, reliable and affordable energy,” Enbridge Chief Executive Officer Greg Ebel said in the statement.
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In Canadian Economics
The Bank of Canada held its overnight lending rate steady at 5%, citing signs of a weakening economy and cooling labour market as the rationale for keeping rates steady.
“With recent evidence that excess demand in the economy is easing, and given the lagged effects of monetary policy, Governing Council decided to hold,” the bank said in a statement accompanying the announcement.
However, the Bank also warned that the "Governing Council remains concerned about the persistence of underlying inflationary pressures, and is prepared to increase the policy interest rate further if needed."
In separate news, Statistics Canada reported that the country posted a trade deficit of $987 million for July compared with a revised deficit of $4.9 billion in June. Total imports fell 5.4%, while total exports rose 0.7%