On Wednesday, the Canadian market closed lower due to declining oil and metal prices that negatively impacted energy and materials stocks. The future of interest rates also contributed to the downward trend of the market sentiment.
An unexpected spike in the U.S.'s crude oil storages for the week ending on May 17th adversely affected oil prices. Additionally, gold prices decreased due to speculation that the Federal Reserve will uphold higher interest rates for an extended period, contrary to previous expectations.
The minutes recorded from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting indicate that policymakers anticipate the necessity of maintaining the current interest rates for a longer duration than initially assumed. Consequently, the main S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a loss of 121.40 points or 0.54%, ending at 22,346.76. The index had opened slightly lower at 22,434.12, but dipped to a daily low of 22,283.49 in the late afternoon trades.
Certain stocks like Iamgold Corp and Ivanhoe Mines suffered significant losses, dropping more than 10% and 8.9% respectively. Similarly, Teck Resources and Newmont Corporation ended almost 5% and 3.7% down. Other companies including Franco-Nevada Corporation, Agnico Eagle Mines, Cameco Corporation, and Canadian Natural Resources reported losses ranging from 1.9 to 2.7%.
Additional corporations such as Barrick Gold Corporation, B2Gold Corp, Canfor Corp, CCL Industries, Eldorado Gold, Ero Copper, International Petroleum Corp, MEG Energy, and Imperial Oil also experienced a sharp decrease in their market values.
Conversely, Bombardier Inc saw a notable surge, climbing by 15.6%. Other companies like Canadian Tire Corporation, Dayforce, Shopify Inc, Celestica Inc, Snc-Lavalin Group, and Alimentation Couche-Tard made gains of 2 to 4%.
