Powell comments lift markets, oil hits highs
To no one’s surprise on Wednesday, the Bank of Canada raised the key interest rate from 0.25% to 0.5%. However, markets surged after the U.S. Fed’s Jay Powell told Congress that he will raise rates by that same measure in a few weeks. Though many had expected a 0.25% rise, markets still reacted by rallying across the board. The S&P closed 1.86%, the Nasdaq 1.62% and the Dow 1.79%.
There was no shortage of gainers: Booking Holdings jumped 4.42%, Deere 4.83%, Norfolk Southern 5.54%, Ford 8.38% and Hewlett Packard 10.25%. Laggards included Enphase down 3.93% and Twitter which slipped 2.64%. The U.S. 10-year yield responded to Powell’s comments by jumping to 1.9%, though Bitcoin had a quiet session, down 0.35% to $44,000.
Crude oil continued to soar to muti-year highs amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. WTI jumped nearly 8% to trade at $111 while WCS leapt about 7% to $100. Oil and Powell helped lift the TSX by 1.27%. All sectors rose, led by industrials. Winners included Air Canada which climbed 4.15%, Element Fleet Financial up 6.11%, Teck Resources 4.04%, Kinaxis 5.59% and Fire & Flower 5.54%. On the losing end were Canfor down 9.19% and Aecon which slid 8.09%.
🧳 Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG-Q) +4.42%
🦌 Deere & Co. (DE-N) +4.83%
🐴 Norfolk Southern (NSC-N) +5.54%
🚘 Ford Motor (F-N) +8.38%
💻 Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ-N) +10.25%
⚡ Enphase Energy (ENPH-Q) -3.93%
🐦 Twitter, Inc (TWTR-N) -2.64%
🅱 Bitcoin (BTCUSD) (CRYPTO:BTC) -0.35%
🛫 Air Canada (AC-T) +4.15%
🏛 Element Fleet Management (EFN-T) +6.11%
⛏ Teck Resources Ltd. (B) (TECK.B-T) +4.04%
💾 Kinaxis Inc (KXS-T) +5.59%
👨⚕️ Fire & Flower Holdings (FAF-T) +5.54%
🌲 Canfor Corp (CFP-T) -9.19%
🧱 Aecon Group Inc (ARE-T) -8.09%
