Canada’s main stock index rose on Wednesday, aided by mining and healthcare shares, ahead of a highly anticipated interest rate decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve due later in the day.
At 9:41 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 140.83 points, or 0.72%, at 19,689.34, a day after hitting its lowest level in more than one year.
The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 1.8% as gold prices rose 1% bolstered by a pullback in the U.S. dollar and U.S. Treasury yields.
“We’ve got a stronger open today as people are getting more comfortable that the Fed might be doing something proactive and doing a bigger hike than had been expected, which is probably good news at the end of the day,” said Gregory Taylor, portfolio manager at Purpose Investments.
“If we get any sense that we’ve hit peak levels of hawkishness from the central banks, that could be a set up for a bounce.”
Investors have raised their bets of a 75 basis points (bps) rate hike, rather than 50 bps, following hotter-than-expected inflation data last week that fueled a selloff across global markets.
The healthcare sector jumped 2.5%, as pot producers Canopy Growth, Cronos Group, Tilray Brands gained between 2.4% and 3.5%.
The energy sector climbed 0.2% as oil prices were stable as the market juggled fears of tight supply with concerns over fuel demand and global economic growth.
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