Investing.com -- Canada’s main stock exchange fell lower on Wednesday, cooling after a multi-day winning streak for the index.
By the 4:00 ET close, the S&P/TSX 60 index dropped by 15.1 points, or 1%.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s composite index declined by 216.5 points or 0.8%, having closed up by 83.7 points, or 0.3%, on Tuesday, racing above a record high notched on Friday. The average was shuttered on Monday for a holiday.
It had risen for ten consecutive sessions -- the longest streak of gains since 2021. Today’s trading looks poised to broke that streak.
Investors largely waved off hot Canadian inflation data and assessed the outlook for trade deals, with finance leaders from Group of Seven (G7) countries meeting in Canada this week.
Analysts at Macquarie see the inflation data potentially muddying the waters for the Bank of Canada, expecting a delay in anticipated rate cuts.
U.S. stocks plunge
Meanwhile, U.S. stock indexes were crushed. At the 4:00 ET close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 817.2 points or 1.9%, and the S&P 500 fell 95.9 points or 1.6%. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite dropped the least, down 270.1 points or 1.4%.
Treasury yields rose on a disappointing bond auction, as bidders remained concerned about U.S. debt following a downgrade from Moody’s rating agency Friday. U.S. stocks, already struggling with a down day, plummeted on the news.
The main averages on Wall Street retreated on Tuesday, as stocks were weighed down by 10-year U.S. Treasury yields, which touched an intraday high before easing back to settle at around 4.48%.
The S&P 500 index fell for the first time after six sessions on Tuesday, pressured by a pullback in technology shares after recent gains.
Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) stock was the big winner of the day, as investors digest announcements from its I/O developer conference, including a new "AI Mode" search feature. The feature seems to be easing fears of Google’s search business losing market share to chatbots like ChatGPT.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock was the big loser of the day, as OpenAI announced the acquisition of former Apple designer Jony Ive’s AI hardware startup io Products. Investors were concerned of a possible shift in technology from the smartphone to a new, AI-enabled device.
Sentiment remains cautious
Investors remained on edge over the U.S. economy after Moody’s downgraded the U.S. credit rating last week, while Congress prepared to vote on a sweeping tax cut bill backed by President Donald Trump.
On the trade front, investors were holding out for more trade deals between the U.S. and major economies. A host of reports showed high-level talks with Japan are set to resume this week, while negotiations with several other countries are ongoing.
China added to the risk aversion by warning that the U.S.’ chip export controls threatened to undermine a trade truce reached in Geneva last week.
Comments from a slew of Federal Reserve officials also showed the central bank remained concerned over economic and trade-related uncertainty, which diminishes the chance of any interest rate cuts in the near-term. Fed officials also warned that high trade tariffs were likely to drive up U.S. inflation.
Trump’s tax bill in focus
President Donald Trump’s tax cut and spending bill has apparently run into opposition from several dissenting lawmakers, and faces a critical stress test on Wednesday as Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives try to overcome internal divisions.
The bill, if approved, could add $3 trillion to $5 trillion to the country’s $36.2 trillion debt load, according to nonpartisan analysts, and comes after Moody’s downgraded its U.S. credit rating by a notch last week over growing national debt.
Crude surges on Israel strike talk, then drops
Oil prices surged higher following reports Israel is preparing a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, raising fears supply could be hit from this key Middle East producing region. However, prices soon pared gains, and are now in the red.
At 5:40 ET, Brent futures lowered by 1.2% to $64.63 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 1.1% to $61.35 per barrel.
Israel is preparing for a potential military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, as the U.S. continues to pursue a diplomatic agreement with Tehran, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing multiple U.S. officials familiar with recent intelligence.
The report said that the Israeli leaders have not made a final decision yet, but the likelihood of an Israeli strike has "gone up significantly" in recent months.
Additionally, U.S. crude stockpiles increased by approximately 2.5 million barrels for the week ending May 16, according to data from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday, defying forecasts for a 1.9 million-barrel draw.
Gold ticks higher
Gold prices rose on Wednesday as the report on Israeli attack plans on Iran ramped up safe haven demand.
Persistent concerns over the fiscal health of the U.S., plus uncertainty over trade negotiations also kept gold relatively well-bid, helping bullion recoup some of last week’s losses.
Spot gold advanced by 0.8% to $3,315.32 an ounce, while gold futures for June climbed 1% to $3,316.75/oz by 5:45 ET.
(Scott Kanowsky also contributed to this article)