Dec 16 (Reuters) – Futures for Canada’s main stock index
slumped on Friday, mirroring losses on Wall Street, as hawkish
commentary from major central banks this week heightened fears
of a global recession.
Futures on the S&P/TSX index were down 1% at 7:28
a.m. ET (1228 GMT). U.S. stock index futures extended their
loss-making streak on persistent concerns that the Federal
Reserve’s resolve to combat runaway inflation could tip the
economy into a recession.
Oil prices fell nearly 2% as the market
assessed the aftermath of interest rates hikes globally, while
gold edged lower and was on course for its biggest weekly
fall since mid-November.
Canada’s benchmark index had registered its biggest one-day
drop in more than a month on Thursday, with technology and
materials stocks dragging as a hawkish outlook from the European
Union, the U.S. and the UK central banks sparked a global
selloff.
The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its overnight
lending rate by an expected 50-basis points, but signaled that
rate hikes were far from over. Both the European Central Bank
and the Bank of England followed suit with a 50-bps rate hike
and said there were more to come.
In company news, global miner Rio Tinto Ltd said it
had completed its long drawn-out acquisition of the remaining
49% stake in Canadian Turquoise Hill Resources.
CIBC cut renewable energy producer Transalta Renewables
to “neutral” from “outperformer”.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips)
Read More: CANADA STOCKS-TSX futures slide as hawkish cenbanks heighten recession fears