Bay Street Likely To Open On Weak Note

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares are likely to open with a negative bias Wednesday morning, weighed down by weak crude oil prices and weak European markets. Uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates is likely to weigh as well.

Data on Canadian producer and raw materials prices may also make a significant impact on investor sentiment.

Data on Canadian producer and raw materials prices for the month of December are due at 8:30 AM ET.

Producer prices in Canada decreased by 0.4% over a month in November, following a downwardly revised 0.9% drop in October. On yearly basis, producer prices declined by 2.3% in November, after a downwardly revised 2.6% drop in October.

Raw materials price index in Canada declined by 4.2% month-over-month in November, after a revised 2.6% drop in October. Year-on-year, raw materials prices dropped by 4.6% in November.

In company news, Manulife Financial Corp. (MFC.TO) has announced that it is partnering with UpLink, the World Economic Forum's or WEF open innovation platform, to design investment in longevity innovation.

Under the three-year partnership, annual Manulife powered Global Longevity Innovation challenges, run by UpLink, will source global start-ups with a view to support an ecosystem of innovators.

Mullen Group Ltd. (MTL.TO) announced that it has entered into a letter of intent to acquire Canadian logistics company ContainerWorld Forwarding Services Inc. ContainerWorld is anticipated to generate around C$150 million of annualized revenue.

Pan American Silver Corp. (PAAS.TO) reported an increase in preliminary gold and silver production for the full year, supported by the acquisition of Yamana Gold Inc.

For the full year, the company registered gold production of 882.9 thousand ounces, up 60% from last year. Silver production stood at 20.4 million ounces, up 11% from 2022. The company's Zinc output for the year stood at 38.8 thousand tons or Kt, followed by Lead at 18.7 Kt, and Copper output of 5 Kt.

The Canadian market ended lower on Tuesday as hopes of an early rate cut by the central bank faded a bit after data showed an acceleration in the nation's consumer price inflation in the month of December.

Weak crude oil and bullion prices triggered some heavy selling at several counters in energy and materials sectors, contributing substantially to market's decline.

Data from Statistics Canada showed that the consumer price index rose 3.4% year-on-year in December, following a 3.1% increase in November. The rate matched expectations.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, consumer prices moved up 0.3%, the same rate as seen in the previous month. Core CPI, excluding food and energy, eased to 0.2% from 0.3% last month.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which tumbled to 20,842.98, ended down 113.79 points or 0.54% at 20,948.09.

Asian stocks ended weak on Wednesday as investors reacted to mixed Chinese data and continued to follow the latest developments in the Middle East.

European stocks are down firmly in negative territory amid uncertainty about early interest rate cuts by central banks after several ECB policymakers warned that markets are getting ahead on rate cut expectations. Somewhat disappointing fourth-quarter GDP data from China weigh as well.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $1.33 or 1.84% at $71.07 a barrel.

Gold futures are gaining $1.50 or 0.08% at $2,031.70 an ounce, while Silver futures are down $0.128 or 0.55% at $22.965 an ounce.