(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. [O/R] [GOL/]
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)