The S&P/TSX Composite Index hovered near the 35,000 level on Wednesday as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision and awaited confirmation of a potential US–Iran peace agreement. As anticipated, the Fed left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.50%–3.75% but adopted a more hawkish tone, reinforcing expectations that borrowing costs may stay elevated for an extended period.
At the same time, easing concerns over energy-driven inflation helped pull Canadian government bond yields lower, providing support to interest rate–sensitive financial stocks. Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, and Bank of Montreal each gained about 1%, while Bank of Nova Scotia climbed nearly 2%.
In contrast, energy stocks came under pressure amid expectations that oil supplies from the Middle East could normalize, weighing on crude prices. Suncor Energy and Imperial Oil both fell more than 2%.
