By Ketki Saxena
Investing.com -- At 10:10 a.m in Toronto, the S&P/TSX Composite index was at 18,680.38 points, down 1.83% shortly after the open, tracking U.S. equities lower and pressured by a sharp decline in crude.
Risk sentiment continues to dominate the market, continuing the major theme of the second quarter, as investors worry that rate hikes by global central banks will trigger a recession. Worries of a global slowdown were exacerbated earlier this morning following comments by the Bank of England that the global economic outlook has “deteriorated materially”. Additionally, S&P Global’s composite purchasing managers index for the Eurozone fell to a 16-month low, implying growth of around only 0.2% in the quarter.
In the U.S. The Atlanta Federal Reserve's much-watched GDP Now forecast is at an annualized -2.1% for the second quarter, implying the country is already in a technical recession,
U.S. non-farm payrolls report this Friday is also forecast to show jobs growth slowing to 270,000 in June, with average earnings expected to stall at around 5.0%. Canadian investors also get domestic employment figures Friday morning.
However, the main event this week will be the release of the Federal reserve’s minutes from its June meeting, which are expected to be hawkish.
The commodity-heavy Canadian index was also pressured by a sharp decline in crude, as recession fears - for now - overshadow concerns of tight supply. Weakness in metals, including a slide in copper, also weighed on the TSX so far today.
Bond yields, meanwhile retreated, the dollar strengthened, and the VIX - Wall Street’s fear gauge - jumped.
Here’s a snapshot of markets at the open:
Indices:
- S&P/TSX 60: -1.46%
- S&P/TSX Venture: -1.49%
- S&P 500: -2.14%
- Dow Jones: -1.91%
- Nasdaq: -1.72%
- VIX: +6.87%
Commodity Futures:
- Crude: -4.93% at 103.08
- Brent: -5.58% at 107.17
- Natural Gas: -3.71% at 5.652
- Gold: -1.15% at 1780.8
- Copper: - 4.21% at 2.4170
Bonds and Currencies:
- Canada 5 year: -0.072 points at 2.976%
- Canada 10 year: -0.060 points at 3.115%
- US 10 year: -0.084 points at 2.820%
- USD Index: +1.24% at 106.44
- USD/CAD: +1.28% at 1.3023
Cryptocurrencies: