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S&P/TSX composite up as BoC cuts key rate, U.S. stock markets dip as Fed holds

The TMX Market Centre is shown in Toronto, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paige Taylor White

Canada’s main stock index closed higher Wednesday as the Bank of Canada cut its key lending rate, while U.S. stock markets dipped as the U.S. Federal Reserve kept its rate unchanged.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 53.85 points at 25,473.30, helped by commodity stocks.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 136.83 points at 44,713.52. The S&P 500 index was down 28.39 points at 6,039.31, while the Nasdaq composite was down 101.26 points at 19,632.32.

The Canadian dollar traded for 69.28 cents US compared with 69.47 cents US on Tuesday. The move came as the Bank of Canada lowered its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to three per cent.

The March crude oil contract was down US$1.15 at US$72.62 per barrel and the March natural gas contract was up five cents at US$3.17 per mmBTU.

The April gold contract was down US$1.10 at US$2,793.50 an ounce and the March copper contract was up three cents at US$4.28 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2025.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)