TSX Ends Slightly Lower After Cautious Session

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market ended marginally down on Wednesday after a cautious session with investors digesting the central bank's interest rate decision and views on future policy stance.

Weak U.S. and European markets amid rising concerns about inflation and looming rate hikes, and some disappointing economic data weighed as well on Canadian stocks.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended lower by 15.62 points or 0.08% at 20,713.72 after scaling a low of 20,610.19 and a high of 20,866.36 intraday.

Energy stocks moved up, tracking higher crude oil prices. Industrials shares were the other prominent gainers. Healthcare and technology stocks declined sharply. Several stocks from consumer staples section to ended notably lower.

The Bank of Canada this morning raised its interest rate by 50 basis points to 1.5% as expected, and signaled further hikes to control high inflation.

With the economy in excess demand, and inflation persisting well above target and expected to move higher in the near term, the Governing Council continues to judge that interest rates will need to rise further, according to the accompanying statement.

The bank said that it is continuing its policy of quantitative tightening, and added that the pace of further increases in the policy rate will be guided by its ongoing assessment of the economy and inflation, and the Governing Council is prepared to act more forcefully if needed to meet its commitment to achieve the 2 percent inflation target.

Meanwhile, a report from Markit Economics showed the S&P Global Canada Manufacturing PMI rose to 56.8 in May of 2022 from 56.2 in the previous period, marking the 23rd consecutive month of expansion.

Nuvei Corporation (NVEI.TO), West Fraser Timber (WFG.TO), Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), Nutrien (NTR.TO), Loblaw Companies (L.TO), Cargojet Inc (CJT.TO), Constellation Software (CSU.TO) and George Weston (WN.TO) lost 2 to 5%.

Laurentian Bank (LB.TO) climbed nearly 9%. The bank reported net income of $59.5 million and diluted earnings per share of $1.34 for the second quarter of 2022, compared with $53.1 million and $1.15 for the second quarter of 2021.

Stelco Holdings (STLC.TO), Cae Inc (CAE.TO), Precision Drilling (PD.TO), Jamieson Wellness (JWEL.TO) and WSP Global (WSP.TO) shed 5 to 8%.