By Ketki Saxena
Investing.com – The TSX reversed the day’s losses by mid afternoon trading, tracking Wall Street higher to eke out a gain. North American equities in the green as investors bought the dip after a tumultuous week that included a full blown banking crisis, and a relatively muted 25 bps move from the US Federal Reserve.
Regional banks, including Canadian banks, flipped to a positive by the close although larger US banks continued to trade downwards.
The commodity heavy Canadian index was pressured by oil prices, driven lower by banking fears as U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said refilling the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserves may take several years, raising worries of dampened demand.
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Enbridge (TSX:ENB) is facing a major delay to its plans to build a tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac to protect the Line 5 pipeline. The U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers are delaying an environmental review of the project by two years. Originally set to be published late this year, the review will now be published in Spring 2025. The entire project is highly contentious, with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer having set up several legal battles for Enbridge, citing environmental concerns as reasons to stop flows through Line 5.
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In Canadian Economics
President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, after their meeting and a speech to parliament, announced in a joint statement that the US and Canada will work together to strengthen Norad, updating the Safe Third Country Agreement and launching a one-year energy transformation task force. The two leaders also announced spending on alternative fuel corridors, critical minerals, semiconductor projects, and the Great Lakes and Arctic radars.
Canadian retail sales rose 1.4% in January, up from a downwardly revised 0% growth in December. The retail sales gains were led by primarily by higher sales of motor vehicles and parts. StatsCan's flash estimates expect sales to have decreased by 0.6% in January.