By Ketki Saxena
Investing.com – The TSX tracked Wall Street higher this morning, as Consumer Prices moderated south of the border, bolstering bets of a smaller interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve at its next meeting.
Data showed that U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 6.0% last month on a yearly basis, compared with 6.4% increase year over year in the previous month.
Today’s data and its implications for the Fed served as a particularly optimistic sign for investors as markets contend with bank collapses driven by SVB which triggered fears of another 2009 like crisis.
The Biggest Stories on Bay Street
Cannabis company TerrAscend Corp. has applied for a listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange, which would make it the first U.S. multi state Cannabis operator to list on a major exchange. TerrAscend will seek shareholder approval for a reorganization in an effort to meet TSX listing requirements, Multistate operators, or MSOs, conduct business in several states without engaging in interstate commerce or using the federal banking system. MSOs have so far listed over-the-counter or on smaller exchanges such as the Canadian Securities Exchange.
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan reported a 4% gain in assets, with net assets now standing at about $247 billion. Gains were driven by OTPP’s massive private equity and infrastructure portfolios, which helped it beat its own benchmark by 1.7 percentage points. Those gains were partially offset by some weakness in public equity, real estate and investments in early-stage companies, which have been feeling the impact of the rising rate environment.
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In the wake of the SVB and regional bank collapse, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland met with Peter Routledge, Canada’s superintendent of financial institutions and the head of Canada’s financial regulator to emphasize the security of domestic institutions. “Significant structural and regulatory safeguards are already in place in Canada,” Adrienne Vaupshas, Freeland’s spokesperson, said by email Monday evening. “The government wants to assure Canadians our financial institutions are stable and resilient.”
Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 4.1% to $73.9 billion in January, powered by gains in motor vehicle and petroleum and coal products sales. Statistics Canada says higher sales were recorded in 16 of 21 industries. The federal agency says sales in constant dollars were up 3.8% in January, indicating that higher volumes played a significant role in the sales increase on a current dollar basis.