Equities in Canada’s largest centre extended losses for a fifth straight session on Wednesday, as energy stocks weighed and U.S. inflation data cemented expectations of aggressive rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
The TSX Composite removed 44.27 points to 18, 172.41.
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.03 cents to 72.48 cents U.S.
Cameco Corp and Brookfield Renewable Partners said after markets closed on Tuesday that they would acquire nuclear power plant equipment maker Westinghouse Electric in a $7.9-billion deal including debt, as an energy crisis in Europe renewed interest in nuclear power.
Cameco shares dumped $4.86, or 13.6%, to $30.76, while Brookfield shares slid $1.11, or 2.8%, to $39.03.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 1.41 points to 586.49.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups lost ground in the first hour, with energy backpedaling 1.3%, while utilities lost 0.7%, and consumer discretionary stocks dipped 0.4%.
The five gainers were led by consumer staples, ahead 1.1%, while information technology advanced 0.6%, and gold picked up 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose Wednesday as investors shook off inflation data that came in higher than expected and looked ahead to a key consumer report that will inform the pace of the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes going forward.
The Dow Jones Industrials began the day ahead 122.77 points to 29,361.96.
The S&P 500 nicked up 2.71 points to 3,591.55, boosted by a more than 12% jump in shares of Moderna, the top gaining stock in the index.
The NASDAQ Composite dumped 14.5 points to 10,411.69.
Stocks whiplashed between gains and losses earlier in the morning when the September producer price index, a gauge of final-demand wholesale prices, came in higher than expected.
The print was up 0.4% in September, more than the consensus estimate of a 0.2% increase, according to Dow Jones.
The PPI number is one of the inflation gauges investors are watching alongside the Federal Reserve. If inflation stays high, the central bank is more likely to continue its aggressive path of interest rate hikes to bring it back into check. That means rates will continue to rise and may stay high for longer than markets expect, weighing on stocks.
Treasury prices were stationery, keeping yields at Tuesday’s 3.94%.
Oil prices sank $1.31 to $88.04 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dumped $7.80 to $1,678.20 U.S. an ounce.