Canadian Stocks Decline As Trump Steps Up Ukraine Peace Efforts

(RTTNews) - Canadian stock market descended on Tuesday amid soft domestic inflation data coupled with uncertainty over US Fed rate cuts.

After opening just near yesterday's close, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index managed to reach day's high within an hour but then slid into negative territory and finally closed at 27,823.88, down by 98.97 points (or 0.35%).

On the data front, figures released by Statistics Canada revealed that the year-on-year annual inflation rate in Canada eased to 1.7% in July from 1.9% in June - below market forecasts of 1.8%.

The month-on-month consumer prices rose by 0.3% over a month in July after a 0.1% increase in June. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, consumer prices inched up 0.1%.

Year-on-year, core consumer prices increased 2.6% in July, while the core month-over-month inflation rate remained unchanged at 0.1% in July.

On the geopolitical front, yesterday's White House meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not deliver any immediate breakthrough though Trump's push for peace has increased the expectations of an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.

After yesterday's meeting, Trump announced that he was preparing for a face-to-face meeting between the presidents of Ukraine and Russia, and later, a trilateral summit involving himself in the negotiations.

The Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, starting this Thursday, to be held in Wyoming where prominent central bankers and economists gather to share their insights on economy, trade, and finance, is highly anticipated by traders.

In the US, stagflation concerns are on the rise and markets are currently looking forward to at least a 25-basis-point rate cut at the September FOMC meeting.

According to Bank of America Global Research (by Reuters), 70% of surveyed investors expect a stagflationary environment in the coming months, driven by weaker jobs data, higher core inflation and a sharp rebound in producer prices.

The US Fed Chair is delivering the keynote speech in the convention in which signals on the direction of Fed's monetary policy and rate cuts could be captured.

Major sectors that gained in today's trading were Industrials (1.06%), Real Estate (0.95%), Consumer Staples (0.67%), and Consumer Discretionary (0.45%).

Among the individual stocks, Tfi International Inc (3.36%), Canadian Pacific Kansas City (2.19%), Firstservice Corp (1.61%), and Restaurant Brands International Inc (1.51%) were the prominent gainers.

Major sectors that lost in today's trading were Energy (0.77%), Healthcare (1.44%), IT (1.65%), and Materials (1.79%).

Among the individual stocks, Enerflex Ltd (2.99%), Ces Energy Solutions Corp (2.97%), Bausch Health Companies Inc (2.53%), Aya Gold and Silver Inc (6.70%), and Orla Mining Ltd (6.09%) were the notable losers.

Terravest Capital Inc (2.78%) and Jamieson Wellness Inc (2.58%) were among the prime market-moving stocks today.