In the late morning trades, the Canadian market is experiencing a slight downturn. Investors are attributing this marginal fall to the recent revelation about Canada's preliminary Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimate for December, and the forthcoming announcement from the Federal Reserve about its monetary policy.
The general consensus among market observers is that the Federal Reserve will maintain the status quo and not alter the interest rates. However, investors will be keenly scrutinizing the policy statement that will accompany this decision and the subsequent press conference by Jerome Powell, the Fed Chair. These events might provide indications about when the Fed plans to start reducing rates.
Statistics Canada has reported an expected growth of 0.3% in the Canadian economy in December 2023, based on preliminary estimates. This estimate trumps the 0.2% GDP growth of November, which itself was higher than the initial 0.1% estimate. These figures denote a turnaround in the country's economic status after having witnessed zero growth over the three preceding months.
Currently, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is down by 21.21 points or 0.1%, standing at 21,206.66. In the trading landscape, stocks associated with materials and industries are receiving backing. However, stocks related to energy and technology are generally showing lacklustre performance.
In the Materials Index, New Gold Inc (NG.TO) is leading the pack with a 5% increase, and the index itself has escalated by nearly 1%. Other stocks that have reported increases ranging from 2 to 3.1% include Wesdome Gold Mines (WDO.TO), Franco-Nevada Corp (FNV.TO), Equinox Gold Corp (EQX.TO), Iamgold Corp (IMG.TO), Ero Copper (ERO.TO), Torex Gold Resources (TXG.TO), Seabridge Gold (SEA.TO), and K92 Mining Inc (KNT.TO).
In the industrial sector, Ballard Power Systems (BP.TO) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP.TO) have seen increases of 2.75% and 2%, respectively.
On the other hand, within the technology sector, there have been declines of 1.4% to 2% reported by Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), Docebo Inc (DCBO.TO), Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO), and Constellation Software (CSU.TO).
Following strong results, CGI Inc (GIB.A.TO) reported a 2.3% increase, with first-quarter net earnings of $389.8 million, demonstrating a 1.9% year-over-year increment.
In the energy sector, Nuvista Energy (NV.TO), Baytex Energy (BTE.TO), and Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) are down by 2.1%, 1.4%, and 1%, respectively.
