Stocks Hurtle Lower Before Thursday Open

Futures for Canada's main stock index slipped on Thursday, weighed down by weak commodity prices after the U.S. Federal Reserve hardened its hawkish stance, signalling more rate hikes later this year.

The TSX Composite Index slipped into the red 4.2 points by the end of Thursday to 20,214.69.

September futures slumped 0.8% Thursday.

The Canadian dollar dropped 0.18 cents to 74.01 cents U.S.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange lopped off 4.33 points Wednesday to 577.39.

ON WALLSTREET

Stock futures fell Thursday, deepening losses for the week, as investors come to terms with the Federal Reserve’s plans to keep interest rates at higher levels for a longer time period than hoped.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials swooned 191 points, or 0.6%, to 34,538.

Futures for the S&P 500 dipped 36 points, or 0.8%, at 4,411.

Futures for the NASDAQ stumbled 169.25 points, or 1.1%, to 14,982.75. All three major benchmarks headed for their third negative session in a row.

The three major averages closed at session lows Wednesday after the Fed said it would leave interest rates unchanged, but forecast another rate hike before the end of the year. The central bank also indicated fewer rate cuts next year, essentially saying it would need to keep rates higher for longer because stubborn inflation.

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Fed Chair Jerome Powell commented after the decision that a soft landing for the economy was still possible, but not his baseline scenario.

Tech shares have led the losses this week as investors may rethink buying growth-oriented stocks if interest rates are going to remain high. Tesla, Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Nvidia were lower in premarket trading Thursday.

Marketing automation firm Klaviyo, which debuted on the public markets Wednesday, slipped nearly 2% in the premarket Thursday. That made the stock the latest in a string of promising IPOs that turned lower this week.

FedEx bucked the negative trend, gaining 5% after the delivery company posted adjusted earnings of $4.55 per share in its fiscal first quarter, while analysts called for $3.73 per share, per LSEG.

Additional economic data awaits traders on Thursday, with weekly jobless claims due before the opening bell, as well as existing home sales data out later that morning.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 retreated 1.4% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng flopped 1.3%

Oil prices doffed 42 cents to $89.24 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices retreated $27.70 to $1,939.40.