Bay Street Likely To Open On Positive Note

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares are likely to open with a positive bias on Wednesday, tracking higher bullion prices.

The mood is likely to remain somewhat cautious with investors awaiting the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, due later in the day.

The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by 75 basis points, but investors will look for any signs the central bank may be considering slowing the pace of rate hikes in December.

In Canadian earnings news, Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE.TO) reported a rise in earnings for the third-quarter. For the three-month period to September 30, the Calgary-headquartered firm posted net earnings of C$1.609 billion or C$0.81 per share, compared with C$551 million or C$0.27 per share a year ago.

The Canadian market ended on a firm note on Tuesday despite giving up a substantial portion of its early gains. The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which climbed to 19,698.33 in early trades, ended the session with a gain of 91.57 points or 0.47% at 19,517.71.

Asian stocks ended on a muted note Wednesday, though Chinese and Hong Kong markets extended strong gains from the previous session following unconfirmed social media posts suggesting that policymakers are preparing to gradually exit the stringent zero-COVID policy.

Investors remained focused on the U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting later in the day that could offer additional cues on future rate hikes.

European stocks have given up early gains and are down slightly amid concerns about rate hikes.

In commodities trading, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are up $0.12 or 0.14% at $88.49 a barrel.

Gold futures are gaining $10.00 or 0.6% at $1,659.70 an ounce, while Silver futures are up $0.133 or 0.68% at $19.800 an ounce.