CANADA STOCKS-TSX ticks higher on materials boost; U.S. Fed decision on watch
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Materials lift TSX
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Fed decision eyed
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TSX up ~0.5%
(Updated at 10:19 a.m. ET)
By Siddarth S and Khushi Singh
Sept 20 (Reuters) - Toronto stocks ticked up on Wednesday as higher gold prices boosted materials shares, while investors await the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. At 10:19 a.m. ET (1419 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 91.2 points, or 0.45%, at 20,310.09.
Materials stocks, which largely constitute precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, climbed 1.2%, tracking higher gold and metal prices.
The Fed is expected to keep interest rates steady in the range of 5.25%-5.50% as its meeting on Wednesday.
Investors are also looking at the release of new forecasts that will reveal whether and how much U.S. central bank policymakers are buying into the prospect of an economic "soft landing".
"The most likely result for this meeting is no immediate change in the current path of monetary policy, with the potential for hints of a future rate hike," Sam Millette, fixed income strategist for Commonwealth Financial Network wrote in a note.
"Instead of focusing on the federal funds rate at this meeting, market participants will be keeping a close eye on the Fed’s dot plot," the note added.
Canada's resource-heavy benchmark index closed more than 1% lower on Tuesday after August's domestic annual inflation rate jumped to 4.0% from 3.3% in July, igniting fears that the Bank of Canada (BoC) might raise interest rates further.
Both U.S. and Canadian-listed shares of Bausch Health Companies rallied over 8%, bouncing back from the previous session's declines, after brokerage Jefferies upgraded the stock.
Elsewhere, Ford reached a last-minute deal to avoid a walkout at its Canadian operations late on Tuesday, even as across the border, the United Auto Workers union said it could expand strikes against the Detroit Three automakers to more factories.
(Reporting by Siddarth S and Khushi Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
