MONEY IN BRIEF
Currencies
These are indicative wholesale rates for foreign currency provided by the Bank of Canada on Tuesday. Quotations in Canadian funds. Australia dollar 0.903 Brazil real 0.3296 China renminbi 0.1887 Euro 1.4777 Hong Kong dollar 0.1699 India rupee 0.01861 Indonesia rupiah 0.000093 Japan yen 0.01253 Malaysia ringgit 0.3185 Mexico peso 0.06741 N.Z. dollar 0.8548 Norway krone 0.1481 Peruvian new sol 0.3939
Russia rouble 0.02
Saudi riyal 0.3552 Singapore dollar 0.9619
South Africa rand 0.08677
South Korean won 0.001103 Sweden krona 0.1373 Switzerland franc 1.3608 Taiwanese dollar 0.04249 Thailand baht 0.0433 Turkey lira 0.2326 U.K. pound 1.6179 U.S. dollar 1.3323
Vietnam dong 0.000057
The markets today
Canada’s main stock index snapped a two-day recovery on Tuesday as market volatility continued ahead of interest rate news this week from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
In addition to uncertainty about a trade war between the U.S. and China, there are concerns about economic growth, and the potential for a hard Brexit in October.
Bond yields moved lower again after inverting last week in a signal of a potential recession. With no major data or tweets from U.S. President Donald Trump, investors turned their focus to two important events this week from the Fed. Minutes of the last central bank meeting will be released today and chairman Jerome Powell will speak on Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Markets are pricing in another interest rate cut next month and will be looking for signals from Powell as some, including Trump, have called for a large decrease to stimulate the economy.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 90.74 points at 16,213.31. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 173.35 points at 25,962.44. The S&P 500 index was down 23.14 points at 2,900.51, while the Nasdaq composite was down 54.25 points at 7,948.56.
The telecommunications sector led the TSX decrease, falling 1.46 per cent as Rogers Communications Inc. dropped 2.1 per cent a day after a federal regulator lowered wholesale broadband prices that major telecom companies can charge smaller internet providers. The key energy sector was also lower amid ongoing concerns about the impact of slowing global economic growth on crude demand. Shares of Canadian Natural Resources were down 2.5 per cent, followed by Suncor Energy Inc. at 1.6 per cent. The October crude contract was down one cent at US$56.13 per barrel and the September natural gas contract was up 0.8 of a cent at US$2.22 per mmBTU. Investors will be watching as Canadian bank earnings get underway on Wednesday for any comments on bank profitability caused by an inverted yield curve.
The Canadian dollar traded for an average of 75.06 cents US compared with an average of 75.20 cents US on Monday. Materials climbed more than one per cent as the price of gold increased, pushing Barrick Gold Corp. shares 3.15 per cent higher.