S&P/TSX composite down almost 50 points, U.S. stock markets post gains

Canada’s main stock index posted a small loss Thursday as weakness in telecom and utilities stocks weighed on the market, while U.S. markets made gains.

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 49.54 points at 20,919.64.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 48.97 points at 38,726.33. The S&P 500 index was up 2.85 points at 4,997.91, while the Nasdaq composite was up 37.07 points at 15,793.71.

This week has been quieter on the news front compared with last week, when U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell threw cold water on hopes for a rate cut in March, said Konstantin Boehmer, head of fixed income at Mackenzie Investments.

That’s still having an effect on markets today, he said.

If economic data continues to come in strong, rate expectations could continue to be pushed out, said Boehmer.

“We are in a limbo,” he said, with investors eyeing economic data and waiting for signs that the U.S. Federal Reserve could start cutting rates.

“They’re super close, but they are just not there yet to pull the trigger.”

It’s a similar scene in Canada, with inflation still above the levels the Bank of Canada is looking for, said Boehmer.

“Inflation is still not where it should be. But at the end of the day, most likely they will just be in the same ship as the U.S. is,” he said.

“The U.S. is the captain and Bank of Canada is probably the first lieutenant on that same ship.”

Friday will see a revision of U.S. CPI data, noted Boehmer — normally not a particularly relevant release, but this time is different.

That’s because Fed governor Christopher Waller has indicated it could be a major data release, he said.

“In his speech on Jan. 16, he specifically mentioned this CPI revision as a key piece of information that could give the members of the committee from the Federal Reserve the confidence that they need in order to progress further … in their path to start cutting interest rates” said Boehmer.

“Because it is important for the Fed, it is important for us.”

If CPI is revised lower, that could bring up expectations for interest rate cuts to begin, explained Boehmer.

“If there is a meaningful revision lower, the market would jump on that with open arms.”

The Canadian dollar traded for 74.26 cents US compared with 74.24 cents US on Wednesday.

The March crude contract was up US$2.36 at US$76.22 per barrel and the March natural gas contract was down five cents at US$1.92 per mmBTU.

The April gold contract was down US$3.80 at US$2,047.90 an ounce and the March copper contract was down three cents at US$3.70 a pound.