TORONTO — Canada's main stock index was down more than 240 points by the end of Wednesday after a late-afternoon slump, while U.S. markets took a similar tumble, after another outsized rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 240.70 points at 19,277.01.
Losses on the TSX were broad-based, with particular slumps in informational technology, industrials and base metals, while battery metals were up almost seven per cent.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 505.44 points at 32,147.76. The S&P 500 index was down 96.41 points at 3,759.69, while the Nasdaq composite was down 366.05 points at 10,524.80.
On Wednesday the Federal Reserve announced a widely expected rate hike of three-quarters of a percentage point, and signalled more, albeit smaller, hikes could be in the future.
The evening before, Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem told a Senate committee that inflation is still too high, and that while the central bank is nearing the end of its tightening campaign, more hikes should be expected.
The hike by the Fed surprised nobody, said Greg Taylor, chief investment officer at Purpose Investments.
Instead, investors were waiting to see what kind of messaging would accompany the hike, as there was optimism for a clear signal that the central bank was planning to wind down its tightening, he said.
But based on the late-afternoon slump, Taylor said it doesn’t look like investors got the outlook they were hoping for.
The next few weeks will be key as more earnings are released, U.S. midterm elections conclude, plus labour data at the end of the week, and inflation data in both Canada and the U.S., said Taylor.
“Once we get through that, I think we’re going to get a lot more certainty about the rest of the year,” said Taylor. “Markets tend to like that better.”
U.S. jobs data released Tuesday was hotter than expected, and Taylor said the Canadian labour force data coming later this week will likely still show gains in employment.
"That's where it makes it strange that we're calling for a recession when there still seems to be such such demand for employment and hiring," said Taylor.
"But I think economic data is absolutely what's going to drive the market for the next few weeks."
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.37 cents US, compared with 73.45 cents US on Tuesday.
The December crude contract was up US$1.63 at US$90.00 per barrel and the December natural gas contract was up 55 cents at US$6.27 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up 30 cents at US$1,650.00 an ounceand the December copper contract was down less than half a penny at US$3.47 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2022.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)
Rosa Saba, The Canadian Press
