By Ankika Biswas
© Thomson Reuters
The facade of the original Toronto Stock Exchange building is seen in Toronto
(Reuters) – Canada’s main resource-heavy stock index rose on Wednesday, as higher commodity prices boosted energy and materials stocks, while investors widely expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to skip raising interest rate.
At 9:37 a.m. ET (13:37 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 102.55 points, or 0.51%, at 20,092.95.
While the Fed is expected to leave its key interest rate unchanged at the 5.00%-5.25% range, comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell will be closely watched by investors to assess the central bank’s policy path.
U.S. Producer prices fell more than expected in May, marking the smallest annual increase in nearly 2-1/2 years, a day after the inflation data showed consumer prices barely rose in May.
“There’s almost 100% chance of a pause,” said Diana Avigdor, portfolio manager and head of trading at Barometer Capital Management.
“But the commentary will be a pretty hawkish pause…Powell is not going to give the market what it wants, which is saying we’re in the clear.”
Meanwhile, a Reuters poll shows the Bank of Canada (BoC) will raise interest rate again in July to 5.00% after a 25-basis-point increase last week.
Despite a resilient economy, the Canadian market has underperformed its U.S. peers so far this year, on volatility in commodity prices and the BoC’s surprise rate hike.
The TSX has gained 3.6% year-to-date versus a near 14% rise in Wall Street’s S&P 500.
Commodity prices could get a stimulus from an improving demand outlook on rate cuts from top consumer China, Avigdor noted.
Energy and materials hold a combined weightage of nearly 30% in the benchmark TSX index.
Energy stocks gained 1.1%, tracking higher crude oil prices, while materials advanced 0.9% as metal prices went up ahead of the Fed rate decision.
Lundin Mining Corp jumped 5.0% to the top of TSX, after UBS upgraded its rating on the stock to “buy” from “neutral”.
(Reporting by Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)