Bay Street Seen Opening On Mixed Note

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares are likely to open on a mixed note on Wednesday with the focus on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later in the day.

On the Canadian economic front, Canada new housing price index reading for the month of February is due at 8:30 AM ET.

New home prices in Canada went down 0.2% month-over-month in January 2023, after being flat in the previous month.

Boyd Group Services Inc (BYD.TO) today announced a cash dividend of $0.147 per common share for the first quarter of 2023. The company has fixed April 26 as the record date for payment of the dividend.

The Canadian market ended on a strong note on Tuesday, led by gains in healthcare, energy, technology and financials shares.

The undertone was quite positive right through the day's session amid easing concerns about banking turmoil thanks to the coordinated steps taken by governments and the central banks to rescue troubled U.S. and European banks.

Investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy. The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rate by 25 basis points.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 135.49 points or 0.69% at 19,654.92 after scaling a high of 19,734.68.

Asian markets gained on Wednesday amidst a global bullish sentiment that followed renewed assurances from the U.S. govt on support amidst the banking crisis. Markets in the meanwhile are expecting the Fed to settle for a 25-basis points rate hike later in the day.

European stocks are broadly higher around noon on Wednesday, with investors largely making cautious moves as they await the Federal Reserve's policy announcement due later in the day.

Worries about banking turmoil have eased a bit following coordinated steps taken by governments and central banks, and the focus now is on Fed's rate decision and the accompanying statement for clues about future rate hikes.

In commodities trading, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $0.36 or 0.52% at $69.31 a barrel.

Gold futures are up $5.10 or 0.26% at $1,946.20 an ounce, while Silver futures are up $0.100 or 0.45% at $22.525 an ounce.