By Ketki Saxena
Investing.com -- At 9:55 a.m in Toronto, the S&P/TSX Composite Index was at 19,002.01 points, down 0.40% in the day’s trading after hitting a new one month low yesterday.
The commodity heavy index was weighed down by a slide in crude as worries of rate-hike diven demand destruction and new lockdowns in Chengdu outweighed warnings from Vladimir Putin about the withdrawal of all forms of Russian energy should Western Nations persist with implementing price caps.
Canadian investors also remained cautious of the Bank of Canada’s rate hike decision expected at 10:00 a.m. A relatively aggressive 75 bps move from the Canadian central bank is largely expected as it struggles to bring inflation back to its 2% target. At last reading, Canadian CPI remained at 7.6%.
Today’s Big Stories on Bay Street
Turquoise Hill: As per a 134 page decision by a U.S. District Judge made public yesterday said that Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) must face an investor lawsuit from Pentwater Capital Management LP, Turquoise Hill’s largest minority shareholder with about a 10% stake, on behalf of Turquoise Hill. Rio Tinto is being accused of concealing delays and huge cost overruns at a Mongolian copper and gold mine owned by Turquoise Hill Resources (TSX:TRQ), in which Rio Tinto has a majority stake.
Canadian Banks: A range of Analysts including at CIBC (TSX:CM) and Desjardins adjusted their targets for Canadian banks. CIBC World Markets analyst Paul Holden cut his targets for a group of Canadian bank stocks on Wednesday, including a downgrade to BMO (TSX:BMO), BNS, CAnadian Western Bank, RBC (TSX:RY), Laurentian Bank (TSX:LB), and an upgrade to TD (TSX:TD).
Meanwhile, Doug Young of Desjardins securities downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS), while reaffirming TD as his top pick for the sector, calling it the clear winner for the quarter.
Canadian Stocks Moving Markets This Morning
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In Canadian Economics
It’s set to be a big day in Canadian economics, with the Bank of Canada monetary policy announcement expected today at 10:00 a.m Following an outsized 100 bps move in July, economists expect the Bank to raise rates 75 bps today to 3.25%, and continue its balance sheet runoff. Swap pricing also implies that a 75bps move for today is almost entirely priced in.
Other major stories in Canadian economics include trade surplus data, which Statistics Canada said narrowed to C$4.05 billion in July, as prices fell for consumer goods. Exports were down by 2.8%, largely on consumer goods and in particular pharmaceuticals, as well as energy products. Imports meanwhile fell by 1.8%, driven largely on consumer goods and energy products.
Also at 10:00 a.m, investors will be watching for the Ivey Purchasing Manager Index for August.