Bay Street Seen Opening On Mixed Note

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares are likely to open on a mixed note Monday morning, with investors tracking positive lead from Europe, and commodity prices.

With major central banks scheduled to announce their monetary policies during the course of this week, the mood is likely to remain a bit cautious.

The Federal Reserve's rate decision is due on Wednesday. The U.S. central bank is expected to pause in raising interest rates amid signs of cooling inflation and slowing economic growth.

The Fed's accompanying statement as well as U.S. CPI data will be key as investors look for clues about the outlook for rates.

The People's Bank of China, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan are scheduled to announce their monetary policies this week.

The Canadian market ended weak on Friday, moving lower after showing a lack of direction early in the session. The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 50.64 points or 0.3% to 19,892.06, closing lower for the third straight session.

The extended pullback on Bay Street came as traders continued to react to the Bank of Canada's interest rate hike on Wednesday, which came after the Canadian central bank left rates unchanged for two straight meetings.

Asian stocks closed mostly lower on Monday as growth worries lingered, and investors looked for cues from key central bank meetings due later in the week.

European stocks traded higher on Monday ahead of a big week of central bank meetings. The European Central Bank is widely expected to hike rates by 25 basis points on Thursday.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $1.67 or 2.38% at $68.50 a barrel.

Gold futures are up marginally at $1,977.70 an ounce, while Silver futures are down $0.100 or 0.44% at $24.310 an ounce.