Futures tied to Canada’s main stock index fell on Wednesday, hurt by crude prices, ahead of the Bank of Canada’s monetary policy decision that is expected to result in an outsized interest rate cut.
The TSX charged toward breakeven near the session’s end, falling just short 6.63 points at 24,716.70.
December futures were down 0.2% Wednesday.
The Canadian dollar veered lower 0.07 cents to 72.30 cents U.S.
The central bank’s policy meeting at 9:45 a.m. ET was on the front burner as investors widely anticipated a 50-basis-point cut, the odds of which stand at 91.6%.
A larger-than-usual cut would be its first such reduction in 15 years outside of the pandemic era.
The BoC has offered three separate quarter-point cuts this year, and with inflation below its 2% target, the top bank would now prioritize boosting the domestic economy.
In corporate news, First Quantum Minerals beat third-quarter profit estimates on higher sales volumes for copper and gold along with stronger realized gold prices.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange jumped 4.3 points Wednesday to 627.31.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures fell on Wednesday after the S&P 500 posted its first back-to-back loss since early September, while Treasury yields moved higher.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials slumped 213 points, or 0.5%, to 42.954.
Futures for the much broader index faltered 14.75 points, or 0.3% to 5,877.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite Index let go of 85.75 points, or 0.4%, to 20,456.25.
Dow member McDonald’s fell 6.1% after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said an E. coli outbreak tied to the fast-food giant’s Quarter Pounder burgers has resulted in 10 hospitalizations and one death. Starbucks tumbled 5% after the coffee chain issued preliminary quarterly results showing that its sales fell again.
Also weighing on futures was another uptick in rates. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield rose 3 basis points to 4.23%, reaching levels not seen since July.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slid 0.8% Wednesday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained a solid 1.3%.
Oil prices dropped $1.44 to $70.30 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $3.80 to $2,763.60.