Bay Street Likely To Open On Mixed Note

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares look headed for a mixed start Monday morning, tracking commodity prices, and digesting quarterly updates from U.S. and Canadian companies. With the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement due on Wednesday, the mood is likely to remain a bit cautious.

Cargojet (CJT.TO) reported first-quarter adjusted earnings of $31 million, or $1.86 per share, compared to $16.8 million, or $0.97 per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ATD.TO) announced today that the Toronto Stock Exchange has approved the renewal of its share repurchase program, authorizing Couche-Tard to repurchase up to 78,083,521 Common Shares, representing 10% of the company's "public float" as at April 18, 2024 . Based on the current share price the completion of the Program in full would represent a total investment of approximately US $4.3 billion or CDN $5.9 billion.

The Canadian market ended modestly higher on Friday, led by gains in materials stocks as gold prices advanced on safe-haven buying.

Investors reacted positively to some upbeat earnings updates from top U.S. companies, including Alphabet and Microsoft, and digested U.S. personal consumption expenditure (PCE) data that showed a larger than expected increase in annual consumer price growth.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 83.86 points or 0.38% at 21,969.24, after moving in a tight range between 21,907.48 and 21,997.95. The index gained about 0.5% in the week.

Asian stocks ended higher in thin trade on Monday, with Japanese markets closed for a holiday.

Traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's policy meeting on Wednesday after the central bank's preferred inflation gauge largely met expectations.

European stocks are turning in a mixed performance. Among the major markets, U.K. is outperforming, with real estate stocks faring well after data showed house sales in the country rose for the seventh consecutive month in April thanks to higher demand for smaller homes.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down slightly at $83.83 a barrel.

Gold futures are up $1.50 at $2,348.70 an ounce, while Silver futures are gaining $0.088 or 0.32% at $27.340 an ounce.