Toronto stock prices fall before Powell's Fed comments

Canada's main index of stocks fell on Monday as mining stocks were hurt. Investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to speak later that day for clues about U.S. policies outlook.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite index fell 0.26% to 23,894.19 and was expected to continue its decline from the previous session

The Canadian market took its cues also from Wall Street where the benchmark S&P500 was down by over 0.1%.

While all eyes were focused on Jerome Powell’s remarks at 1355 ET (Eastern Time), economists warned that a mistake made in setting the interest rate during the final phase of the Fed’s battle against inflation could harm the economy for the next year.

The markets are unanimous in their expectation that the Fed will further reduce its borrowing costs during its policy meeting on November, following a recent rate cut of a massive 50 basis points.

Angelo Kourkafas is an investment strategist with Edward Jones Investments. He said, "It's normal to see some pullbacks on the last day of the trading month, particularly after the strength we saw last week."

Kourkafas also added that a slight hesitation before major employment data could be a contributing factor.

Investors will be watching the August job openings report, September's crucial payrolls figure and final business activity estimates this week.

Bank of Canada also expected to boost weakening economy of country by

Interest rates are being cut

At its October meeting, the Council met for the fourth consecutive time.

The TSX gained 14% in this year. This is partly due to the policy easing cycles in the U.S.

Materials sector was the worst performing sector, falling 1.4%. Gold prices were down but still on track for their biggest quarter gain in over eight years.

International Petroleum Corp. is listed on the TSX? ?, First Majestic Silver Corp? First Majestic Silver Corp? The worst-hit companies saw a drop between 4.4% and 5.22%. (Reporting and editing by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru, Nikhil Sharma)

(source: Reuters)