Bay Street Likely To Open On Cautious Note

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market is likely to open on a cautious note Wednesday morning amid concerns about growth due to rising geopolitical tensions.

Energy stocks may move up on higher crude oil prices.

The Bank of Canada's interest rate decision is due at 10 AM ET. The bank's views on growth and likely stance on rates will set the trend for the market.

The central bank is widely expected to raise it interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 0.5%. The bank had signaled a rate hike a few weeks ago, saying it would no longer promise to keep the rate at emergency levels.

George Weston Limited (WN.TO) reported adjusted net earnings of $347 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, an increase of $79 million, or 29.5%, compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.

The Canadian market ended on a weak note on Tuesday amid worries about global growth due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which advanced to 21,213.26 in early trades, dropped to a low of 20,912.06 before eventually settling for the day at 21,004.51, with a loss of 121.85 points or 0.58%.

Asian stocks ended broadly lower on Wednesday as investors shifted funds to safer assets such as bonds amid renewed concerns about Russia's escalating war on Ukraine. It is feared that the Ukraine tensions may push up the commodity prices and peg the global economic recovery.

European stocks are moving higher after a weak start, with traders making purchases after two successive days of losses. The mood, however, remains quite cautious as worries about geopolitical crisis between Russia and Ukraine continues to hurt sentiment.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are up $6.10 or 5.9% at $109.51 a barrel.

Gold futures are down $15.30 or 0.8% at $1,928.50 an ounce, while Silver futures are down $0.356 or 1.4% at $25.185 an ounce.