Bay Street Seen Opening On Negative Note

(RTTNews) - Sharply lower commodity prices amid worries about a possible recession point to a weak start for the Canadian market on Thursday.

Investors are also likely to react to the European Central Bank's rate decision and comments from the bank's president Christine Lagarde at the press conference following the meeting.

In Canadian company news, Mullen Group Ltd. (MTL.TO) reported adjusted net income of $44.1 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022, an increase of 121.6% over adjusted net income of $19.9 million in the corresponding quarter last year. Adjusted earnings per share rose to $0.47 in the latest quarter, from $0.21 a year ago.

On the economic front, data on new housing price index for the month of June is due at 8:30 AM ET. New home prices in Canada rose by 0.5% from a month earlier in May 2022, following a 0.3% increase in the prior month.

The Canadian market ended modestly higher on Wednesday, thanks to strong buying in healthcare, technology and energy stocks. The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 82.96 points or 0.44% at 19,020.67 after scaling a low of 18,845.15 and a high of 19,056.39 intraday.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday, with Chinese and Hong Kong markets underperforming on concerns over strict Covid lockdowns and waning confidence in China's property market.

Overall gains were modest elsewhere ahead of the ECB meeting.

European stocks are broadly lower with investors making cautious moves ahead of the European Central Bank's policy announcement. The central bank is set to raise interest rates for the first time in 11 years and provide guidance on the proposed anti-fragmentation tool.

Italian bonds fell sharply after Prime Miniester Mario Draghi offered his resignation to the president, in a move that will raise the prospect of snap elections sometime in October.

In commodities trading, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $4.51 or 4.51% at $95.37 a barrel.

Gold futures are down $20.20 or 1.19% at $1,680.00 an ounce, while Silver futures are lower by $0.468 or 2.5% at $18.200 an ounce.