Bay Street Likely To Open On Negative Note

(RTTNews) - Sharply lower commodity prices and weak European markets point to a negative start for the Canadian market on Thursday.

Worries about growth following a sharp interest rate hike could continue to weigh on sentiment and force investors to tread cautiously.

In company news, Bellus Health Inc. (BLU,BLU.TO) said that it has priced its public offering of 16.54 million common shares in Canada and the United States at a price of US$9.25 per common share.

The company has entered into an underwriting agreement with Jefferies, Evercore ISI and RBC Capital Markets as joint book-running managers and LifeSci Capital as lead manager, relating to the public offering.

Organigram Holdings Inc (OGI.TO) reported third-quarter net income of $38.1 million, the highest in the history of the Company, and up 88% from $20.3 million in the same prior-year period and 20% from $31.8 million in Q2 Fiscal 2022.

Cogeco Communications Inc (CCA.TO) reported net earnings of $2.17 per basic share for the three months ended May 2022, compared with $2.02 per basic share in the corresponding quarter last year.

Cogeco Inc (CGO.TO) reported net earnings of $2.38 per basic share for the quarter ended May 31, 2022, compared with $2.17 per basic share in the year-ago period.

Despite staging a strong recovery after a sharp setback earlier in the day, the Canadian market stayed in negative territory and ended modestly lower on Wednesday. The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which plunged 300 points to 18,378.83, ended the session with a loss of just 63.45 points or 0.34% at 18,615.19.

Stocks tumbled early on in the session after the Bank of Canada hiked its benchmark interest rate by 1%, and data from the U.S. Labor Department showed a bigger than expected increase in U.S. consumer prices, adding to concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday as a record-setting U.S. inflation report kept pressure on the U.S. central bank to further tighten monetary policy aggressively at its upcoming policy meetings.

European stocks are down in negative territory amid recession worries. Investors are also reacting to mixed earnings reports.

In commodities trading, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $2.30 or 2.41% at $94.00 a barrel.

Gold futures are down $25.90 or 1.49% at $1,709.60 an ounce, while Silver futures are lower by $0.709 or 3.7% at $18.485 an ounce.