Bay Street Likely To Open On Cautious Note

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market is likely to open on a cautious note on Thursday with investors continuing to track the developments on the banking sector front.

Credit Suisse has reportedly secured a lifeline from the Swiss National Bank. The lender said that it would borrow up to $54 billion from SNB to shore up liquidity.

In Canadian company news, CGI Group, Inc.(GIB.TO) announced Thursday a new global alliance partnership with NetApp (NTAP) focused on helping organizations across industry sectors unlock the full potential of hybrid and multi-cloud environments to drive flexibility, efficiencies and cost savings in the management of their applications and use of their data.

Premium Brands Holdings Corporation (PBH.TO) reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $52.9 million, compared with $52.2 million a year earlier.

On the economic front, data on Canadian wholesale sales for the month of January is due at 8:30 AM ET. Wholesale sales in Canada rose 3% month-on-month in January 2023, after a 0.8% decline in December 2022, according to preliminary estimates.

The Canadian market ended sharply lower on Wednesday, weighed down by losses in energy, financials and technology sectors.

Several stocks from materials, healthcare and real estate sectors too posted sharp losses.

The turmoil in the banking sector following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the U.S., and the debt woes of Swiss lender Credit Suisse hurt sentiment. Falling crude oil prices triggered heavy selling in the energy sector.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a loss of 315.32 points or 1.6% at 19,378.84, nearly 200 points off the session's low of 19,179.43.

Asian stocks ended broadly lower on Thursday as concerns grew about the health of the global banking system. Investor attention also moved to central bank meetings and regulatory action to shore up confidence and avoid a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis.

European stocks are up in positive territory, rebounding from recent losses, as traders assess moves from regulators to support Credit Suisse.

Investors await the European Central Bank's monetary policy announcement, due at 9:15 AM ET. The ECB is widely expected the bank to raise the benchmark refi rate by 50 basis points to 3.5%. At 9:45 AM Et, ECB President Christine Lagarde holds her press conference.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are up $0.15 or 0.23% at $67.76 a barrel.

Gold futures are gaining $3.00 or 0.15% at $1,934.30 an ounce, while Silver futures are up $0.278 or 1.27% at $22.160 an ounce.