12:10 PM EDT, 10/22/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange is down near 100 points at midday, after closing lower on Monday. Most sectors are lower, with utilities and telecoms, both down 0.7%, the biggest decliners.

Oil prices rose for a second day on Tuesday, a day after China took further steps to stimulate its flagging economy while the Biden Administration makes another push for a ceasefire in the Middle East.

Gold rose to a fresh record high for the fourth-straight session as the dollar and yields slipped following strong day-prior gains after Federal Reserve officials cautioned the pace of interest-rate cuts may be slower than expected.

But natural gas edged down as long-term forecasts see mild weather for most states continuing into November, keeping demand light into the start of the heating season.

BMO Economics in its morning note, said yields have backed up in recent weeks on a combination of factors including some stronger than expected economic data, less aggressive expected near-term Federal Reserve easing, and possibly some thought about the fiscal situation heading into November. For the Fed, BMO said, the market is close to pricing in effectively one skipped rate cut by the spring, with 78 bps of easing priced in over four meetings through March. Contrast that to Canada, where the consensus (and market pricing) is fully expecting a 50 bp rate cut tomorrow, and at least a steady stream of further 25 bp moves through March, it added.

Elsewhere, Rosenberg Research, in its 'Early Morning With Dave' note said with inflation down to +1.6%, and just +1.0% ex-mortgage interest, the Bank of Canada has little reason not to cut 50 basis points at tomorrow's policy meeting. Layer on the fact that so far in Q3, real GDP growth is tracking between a +1.0% and +1.5% annualized pace, far below the +2.8% projection published in July's Monetary Policy Report, it added.