June 12 (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index gained on Wednesday after U.S. consumer prices data showed signs of cooling inflation ahead of the Federal Reserve’s rate verdict later in the day, while rising commodity prices also provided support.
At 10:05 a.m. ET (1405 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE), opens new tab was up 210.67 points, or 0.96%, at 22,098.01.
Wall Street also jumped at the open, with the benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab and the Nasdaq touching fresh record highs as the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from May, which remained unexpectedly unchanged, boosted investor hopes for rate cuts by the Fed.
Market participants will now turn their focus to the U.S. central bank’s policy announcement scheduled at 2:00 p.m. ET.
“Given the timing of the CPI, the better news that we get today might not really be reflected in that ‘dot plot’,” said Angelo Kourkafas, investment strategist at Edward Jones Investments.
“What we are going to get is a little more caution about people doing rate cuts.”
Back home, investors will await Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem’s comments at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Rate-sensitive real estate (.GSPTTRE), opens new tab led sectoral gains, up 1.8%.
An uptick in spot gold prices led to the materials sector (.GSPTTMT), opens new tab, which includes precious and base metals miners as well as fertilizer companies, to rise 0.7%.
The energy sector (.SPTTEN), opens new tab added 1%, mirroring gains in oil prices after three key forecasters predicted global oil inventories would fall in the second half of 2024.
Among single stocks, National Bank of Canada (NA.TO), opens new tab bottomed the TSX index, down 5.5%, as it plans to acquire Alberta-based rival Canadian Western Bank (CWB.TO), opens new tab for C$5 billion ($3.63 billion). Canadian Western Bank’s shares soared 70%.
Dollarama (DOL.TO), opens new tab slipped 0.4% as the discount store posted lower first-quarter comparable store sales, even as it posted an increase in first-quarter sales and profit.
Reporting by Nikhil Sharma and Shristi Achar A; Editing by Shreya Biswas
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