Canadian Shares Likely To Open On Mixed Note

(RTTNews) - Bay Street is likely to see a mixed start on Tuesday, tracking somewhat subdued European markets and commodity prices.

The focus now is on the Federal Reserve's policy meeting that gets underway today. The Fed is widely expected to announce a 25 basis point hike in interest rate on Wednesday. The accompanying statement is eyed for hints on future rate hikes.

The European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan are scheduled to announce their monetary policies on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Preliminary data on Canadian manufacturing sales for the month of June is due at 8:30 AM ET. Manufacturing sales in Canada advanced 1.2% month-over-mont in May, following a downwardly revised 0.1% drop in the prior month.

On the earnings front, Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) and First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) are announcing their results today.

The Canadian market ended marginally up on Monday thanks to strong gains in the energy sector as oil prices rose sharply.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 34.61 points or 0.17% at 20,582.12, the highest close in about eleven weeks.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Tuesday, with Chinese and Hong Kong markets posting strong gains after reports emerged that policymakers are looking to bolster growth in the world's second-largest economy.

Chinese shares rallied after policymakers promised steps to shore up growth by supporting real estate and other sectors.

European stocks are slightly higher with investors digesting earnings and economic updates from the region, and looking ahead to monetary policy announcements from the Fed, ECBO and BoJ.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are up $0.20 or 0.25% at $78.94 a barrel.

Gold futures are down $7.70 or 0.39% at $1,954.50 an ounce, while Silver futures are gaining $0.089 or 0.36% at $24.670 an ounce.