The U.S. dollar rose against a basket of major currencies, with comments from European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde seen as a sign the bank was in no rush to raise interest rates. which weighed on the euro.
“The tone of the market completely changed after the ECB rate announcement,” said George Davis, chief technical strategist at RBC Capital Markets.
“We also saw some underperformance in US bonds, which are also supporting the greenback, as well as a more cautious tone for risk sentiment.”
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 fell as rising yields weighed on megacap growth stocks, while the Canadian dollar traded down 0.2% to 1.2595 for the greenback, or 79 .40 US cents.
The currency hit its highest intraday level since April 6 at 1.2522, the move coming after the Bank of Canada raised interest rates by half a percentage point on Wednesday – its biggest ever move. more than two decades.
National data for February showed wholesale trade fell 0.4% from the previous month, missing analysts’ estimates of a 0.9% gain, and factory sales rose 4 .2%.
The price of oil, one of Canada’s top exports, rose 2.6% to $106.98 a barrel on news that the European Union may phase out Russian oil imports.
Yields on Canadian government bonds rose across the curve, following the performance of US Treasuries. The 10-year is up 13.9 basis points to 2.775%, its highest level since January 2014.
The bond market closed early before a Friday holiday for Good Friday.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Sandra Maler)
By Fergal Smith