Daily Wrap-up: North American markets outperform on Fed expectation

North American markets outperform on Fed expectation... Energy East hearings disrupted by protests... Valeant sued by customers... Loonie at 2-week low...

Steve Randall
North American markets outperform on Fed expectation
The stock markets were focused on Friday’s Jackson Hole speech by Fed chair Janet Yellen. The expectation of an interest rate rise pushed the greenback higher and impacted oil and gold prices.

The main TSX index closed higher despite decline for the majority of the sectors. Only materials and telecoms gained.

Wall Street’s three major indexes also closed higher with financials gaining 1 per cent.

European indexes were less confident following Yellen’s speech and the major indexes closed lower while in Asia, most markets closed lower with the exception of Shanghai and Tokyo, the latter boosted by a weaker yen and talk of additional stimulus.
 
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 42.13 (0.29 per cent)
The Dow Jones closed up 107.6 (0.58 per cent)
Oil is trending lower (Brent $49.24, WTI $46.96 at 4.40pm)
Gold is trending higher (1326.10 at 4.40pm)
The loonie is valued at U$0.7683
 
Energy East hearings disrupted by protests
The first day of a hearings into TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline project was halted by protestors Monday. The project, opposed by provincial politicians in Quebec along with First Nations, is under review by the National Energy Board but the protests outside the hearing in Montreal were enough to disrupt proceedings with no certainty that they would continue Tuesday.
 
Valeant sued by customers
Customers of Valeant Pharmaceuticals sued the company Monday alleging violating US racketeering laws. Their lawsuit, filed in Manhattan, says that Valeant’s relationship with specialist pharmacy Philidor boosted prices of its drugs which customers were forced to accept. The plaintiffs are seeking compensation and triple damages.
 
Loonie at 2-week low
The Canadian dollar has fallen to its lowest rate against the greenback as oil prices slipped and the US dollar gained amid expectation of the Fed’s interest rate rise. The loonie may receive a boost Wednesday as GDP data is expected to see a gain of 0.4 per cent for June, raising hopes of a third-quarter rebound.
 

LATEST NEWS