Bay Street Likely To Open On Weak Note

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares are likely to open with a negative bias Thursday morning tracking weakness in global markets and lower commodity prices.

Data on private sector employment in Canada is due out at 8:30 AM ET.

Investors will also be reacting to U.S. jobless claims data for the week ended November 13, due at 8:30 AM ET.

The Canadian market ended weak on Wednesday as uncertainty about near term outlook amid concerns about inflation and surging coronavirus cases weighed on sentiment.

Investors also digested the data from Statistics Canada that showed Canada's headline inflation rate rose to 4.7% in October from 4.4% in the prior month. It was the highest inflation rate since February of 2003. On a monthly basis, consumer prices increased 0.7%, quickening from a 0.2% gain in September.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down by 64.14 points or 0.3% at 21,653.02.

Asian markets ended weak on Thursday amid persistent concerns about inflation and fears that global central banks may be forced to raise rates sooner rather than later.

European stocks are subdued in cautious trade amid concerns over rising inflation and imminent rate hike announcements from central banks sometime in the foreseeable future.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December are down $0.65 or 0.82% at $77.71 a barrel.

Gold futures are lower by $3.70 or 0.19% at $1,866.50 an ounce, while Silver futures are lower by $0.082 or 0.33% at $25.085 an ounce.