Daily Wrap-up: Oil down 3 per cent, TSX in triple-digit fall

Oil down 3 per cent, TSX in triple-digit fall... 700,000 Canadians would struggle with 0.25 per cent interest rate rise... IMF’s Lagarde says Canada could lead the way on global growth...

Steve Randall
Oil down 3 per cent, TSX in triple-digit fall
Energy stocks were the main drag on the S&P/TSX Composite Index Tuesday, slipping almost 4 per cent as oil prices dropped 3 per cent amid concerns over global demand and US interest rates.

None of the main sectors gained with healthcare, materials, utilities and telecoms completing the five largest losers of the session.

Wall Street also closed lower and markets are set to remain cautious until after next week’s meeting of the Fed which, despite recent comments, could still see an interest rate increase.

Asian indexes closed mixed while European indexes closed lower as oil declined.
 
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 248.0 (1.70 per cent)
The Dow Jones closed down 258.3 (1.41 per cent)
Oil is trending lower (Brent $47.08, WTI $44.94 at 4.20pm)
Gold is trending lower (1321.50 at 4.20pm)
The loonie is valued at U$0.7593
 
700,000 Canadians would struggle with 0.25 per cent interest rate rise
If the Bank of Canada was to increase interest rates by just 0.25 per cent, it would cause serious struggles for 700,000 Canadians. The warning comes from TransUnion which says that a rise of 1 per cent would mean potential financial problems for up to 1 million. 

“Despite rising debt loads for Canadians, our study found that the far majority of consumers will be able to manage an interest rate hike of up to one percent,” said Jason Wang, TransUnion’s director of research and industry analysis in Canada. “Our assessment, though, identified a subset of the population of nearly one million borrowers who may face financial challenges when rates rise.”

While any interest rate rise is unexpected in the near term, with many analysts expecting it will be late 2017 before any change, it highlights the need for some to shore up finances in the meantime.
 
IMF’s Lagarde says Canada could lead the way on global growth
The managing director of the IMF has praised Justin Trudeau and the federal government for their handling of Canada’s commitment to boosting economic performance by following the IMF’s recommended golden triangle of fiscal, monetary and structural measures.

Speaking at the C.D. Howe Institute, Ms. Lagarde said that Canada could set the standards for other countries to follow.
 

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