Bay Street Likely To Open Slightly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market is likely to open higher on Thursday, tracking firm bullion prices.

Concerns about the impact of interest rate hikes, and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's comments that the regulators are not considering a "blanket insurance" for bank deposits might limit market's upside.

In company news, BRP Inc (DOO.TO) reported net income of $365.1 million for the quarter ended January 31, 2023, compared with net income of $209.6 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Despite spending much of the day's session in positive territory, the Canadian market ended notably lower on Wednesday, weighed down by losses in healthcare, energy and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which climbed to 19,812.97, drifted down in the final and hour and eventually ended with a loss of 122.14 points or 0.62% at 19,532.78, the session's low.

Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Thursday as investors made largely cautious moves after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised rates by 25 basis points and signaled another hike to fight inflation.

The central bank's latest projections suggest the Fed plans to raise rates just one more time this year to a range of 5.0 to 5.25 percent.

European stocks are down in negative territory with investors assessing the impact of the rate hikes by the Fed, the Swiss National Bank and the Bank of England.

After the Fed raised interest rate on Wednesday, the Swiss National Bank and the Bank of England have hiked their respectively interest rates today, raising concerns the tighter policy could weigh on near to medium term growth.

In commodities trading, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $0.44 or 0.62% at $70.46 a barrel.

Gold futures are gaining $30.50 or 1.57% at $1,980.10 an ounce, while Silver futures are up $0.209 or 0.9% at $22.995 an ounce.