TORONTO - Canadian stocks and bonds rallied on Wednesday, while the loonie weakened to a near two-week low against its U.S. counterpart, after the Bank of Canada became the first central bank among G7 countries to cut interest rates, raising prospects for Canada's economy.
The Canadian services economy grew in May for the first time in a year as firms saw an increase in new business and hired workers at a faster pace, data from S&P Global showed. That prospect of interest rate divergence weighed on the Canadian dollar. The currency was trading 0.2% lower at 1.37 to the U.S. dollar, or 72.99 U.S. cents, after touching its weakest intraday level since May 23 at 1.3741
The loonie is set to strengthen less than previously expected over the coming year as the BoC leads the Fed on rate cuts and if the U.S. election in November raises global trade uncertainty, a Reuters poll found. BofA says chip stocks won't peak until mid-2026, and that these 3 sub-industries will thrive until then