Canada’s main stock index fell on Wednesday, hurt by crude prices in the face of the Bank of Canada’s monetary policy decision that resulted in an outsized interest rate cut. The telecom sector saw the most growth on the TSX while mining and energy stocks were the biggest decliners. The Bank of Canada cut its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points, the fourth consecutive decrease since June, bringing its policy rate to 3.75 per cent.
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U.S. stocks fell after the S&P 500 posted its first back-to-back loss since early September, while Treasury yields moved higher. Also weighing on futures was another uptick in rates. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield rose three basis points to 4.23 per cent, reaching levels not seen since July.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.27 cents U.S. compared with 72.35 cents U.S. on Tuesday.
U.S. crude futures traded $0.74 lower at $71.00 a barrel, and the Brent contract lost $0.85 to $75.19 a barrel.
The price of gold was down US$29.89 to US$2,716.02.
In world markets, the Nikkei was down 307.10 points to 38,104.86, the Hang Seng was up 261.20 points to 20,760.15, the FTSE was down 47.90 points to 8,258.64, and the DAX was down 44.29 points to 19,377.62.
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(Top image generated with AI)