Bay Street Seen Opening On Subdued Note

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market is likely to open on a subdued note on Wednesday with investors following news from the Middle East and assessing U.S. consumer price inflation data.

The Labor Department's data showed consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of February, climbing up 0.3%, after rising by 0.2% in January.

The report also said the annual rates of growth by both consumer prices and core consumer prices were unchanged from the previous month at 2.4% and 2.5%, respectively.

Higher oil prices may trigger some buying in the energy sector, while materials stocks are likely to be under pressure following a drop in precious metals prices.

Crude oil prices moved higher, rebounding from previous session's losses. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures are up $3.35 or 3.9% at $86.80 an ounce.

Gold futures are down $40.70 or 0.77% at $5,201.40 an ounce, while Silver futures are down $2.732 or 3.05% at $86.880 an ounce.

In corporate news, Franco-Nevada Corp. (FNV.TO) fourth-quarter net income of $367.7 million or $1.90 per share, compared to $175.4 million or $0.91 per share last year.

Frontera Energy Corp. (FEC.TO) announced on Tuesday that it has entered into a definitive arrangement agreement to divest its upstream Colombian exploration and production business to Parex Resources Inc. (PXT.TO) for an equity consideration of up to $525 million.

The Canadian market closed higher on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump's comments on the Middle East conflict propelled gold prices. Gains in metal-linked stocks pushed the market higher.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index settled with a gain of 81.33 points or 0.25% at 33,270.65.

Asian stocks moved higher on Wednesday to extend gains from the previous session as oil prices stabilized on easing supply concerns following reports that the International Energy Agency (IEA) may deploy its largest-ever stockpile draw to offset supply risks from the war in the Middle East.

The major European markets are down in negative territory today amid renewed concerns about inflation after oil prices turned north again due to an escalation in Middle East conflict.