The stock market in Canada continued to decline on Wednesday after minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s December meeting increased uncertainty about the central bank’s upcoming interest rate decisions. As a result, the S&P/TSX Composite Index gave up 54 points, or 0.3%, to settle at 20,819 — its lowest closing level since December 22.
Even as a sharp rebound in crude oil and natural gas prices drove energy stocks higher, declines in most other key market sectors pressured the TSX benchmark into the red territory, primarily led by big losses in the shares of consumer cyclical, real estate, mining, and technology companies.
The Fed’s December meeting minutes
In its latest meeting minutes, on the one hand, Fed participants acknowledged an “unusually elevated degree of uncertainty” in their economic outlooks, hinting toward a fluid approach to future rate adjustments. However, they did not dismiss the possibility that…
