Bay Street Seen Opening On Cautious Note

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market is likely to open on a cautious note on Tuesday with investors looking ahead to the Bank of Canada's interest rate decision tomorrow.

Flash data on U.S. manufacturing and services sector activity for the month of January, due at 9:45 AM ET, is also likely to impact market's movements.

Higher commodity prices could trigger some buying in energy and materials shares.

In company news, Magna International Inc. (MGA.TO) said sales were around $37.8 billion in fiscal 2022, compared with $36.242 billion in the previous year. In its November outlook, the company had expected to post sales of $37.4 billion to $38.4 billion, for the fiscal.

Metro Inc. (MRU.TO) reported first-quarter net earnings of $231 .1 million, up 11.3%, and adjusted net earnings of $237 .6 million, up 10.9%, over the year-ago quarter.

The Canadian market ended on a strong note on Monday, led by gains in technology and healthcare sectors.

The mood in the market was fairly positive amid rising expectations the central banks, including the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada will slow the pace of interest rate hikes thanks to the drop in consumer prices.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 128.37 points or 0.63% at 20,631.58.

Asian stocks ended broadly higher on Tuesday after Wall Street stocks ended higher overnight for a second straight session, fueled by a surge in technology stocks.

Most of the regional markets, including South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

European stocks are weak as investors make cautious moves, assessing the outlook for economic and earnings growth.

The eurozone economy expanded in January for the first time in seven months, the results of a purchasing managers survey showed today, helping ease fears of an impending recession.

The S&P Global Flash Eurozone PMI Composite Output Index, which gauges activity in the manufacturing and services sectors, increased to 50.2 from 49.3 in December, the highest level since June.

Separate data showed U.K. budget deficit widened to the highest December level on record largely due to a sharp growth in spending on energy support schemes and huge interest payments driven by high inflation.

In commodities trading, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are up $0.48 or 0.59% at $82.10 a barrel.

Gold futures are gaining $9.20 or 0.48% at $1,937.80 an ounce, while Silver futures are up $0.236 or about 1% at $23.790 an ounce.