Canadian Shares Drifting Lower On Interest Rate Concerns

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market is down in negative territory around noon on Wednesday, weighed down by losses in healthcare, technology, financials and consumer staples sections.

Investors are digesting Canadian inflation data, released before the opening bell this morning. Although inflation has dropped a bit, it came in above forecasts, raising concerns the Bank of Canada will continue to aggressively hike interest rates.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is down 129.50 points or 0.7% at 18,668.68 a few minutes past noon.

Data from Statistics Canada showed annual inflation rate slowed to 6.9% in September, from 7% in the previous month, and slightly above forecasts for a 6.8% rise.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged higher by 0.1% in September, rebounding from a 0.3% drop in August.

Core consumer prices in Canada increased 6% in September over the same month in the previous year. Month-over-month, core consumer prices increased to 149.10 points in September from 148.5 points in August.

A separate data from Statistics Canada showed producer prices in Canada rose by 9% year-on-year in September of 2022, slowing from a downwardly revised 10.2% surge in the previous month. It was the smallest increase in producer prices in 18 months.

Meanwhile, Canada's raw materials price index tumbled 11% from a year earlier in September 2022, following a revised 19.3% drop in August.

Energy stocks are outperforming the market, lifting the Energy Capped Index up by about 1.7%. Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) is rising 2.75%. Athabasca Oil Corp (ATH.TO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) and Suncor Energy (SU.TO) are gaining 1.2 to 2.6%.

Kinross Gold Corp (K.TO), B2Gold Corp (BTO.TO), Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO), Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX.TO) and Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) are down 1.7 to 3.4% on strong volumes.