Led by real estate gains, Canada’s main stock index nudged slightly higher on Wednesday, supported by a rise in commodity prices. Softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data cemented rate cut bets for this year.
The NASDAQ and S&P 500 reached record highs and the Dow Jones also had a solid rally. The U.S. consumer inflation report found that the consumer price index rose 0.3 per cent for the month of April, below expectations but supporting hopes for Federal Reserve rate cuts soon.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.51 cents U.S. compared with 73.25 cents U.S. on Tuesday.
U.S. crude futures traded $0.79 higher at $78.81 a barrel, and the Brent contract rose $0.52 to $82.90 a barrel.
The price of gold was up US$28.87 to US$2,384.36.
In world markets, the Nikkei was up 29.67 points to 38,385.73, the Hang Seng remained at 19,073.71, the FTSE was up 17.67 points to 8,445.80, and the DAX was down 152.94 points to 18,869.36.
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