12:10 PM EDT, 07/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange is down 84 points at midday, adding to the 144 points that were lost on Wednesday.

The biggest decliners are miners (-3.7%) and technology (-1.2%).

Energy and financials are the sole gainers, up 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively.

Oil edged lower early on Thursday, giving up some day-prior gains spurred by falling U.S. oil inventories and a falling dollar after China's ruling Communist Party ended its Third Plenum with little detail on measures to stimulate the No.1 oil importer's sagging economy.

But gold pushed back to a record high as expectations for lower U.S. interest rates offset rising treasury yields and a rebounding dollar.

Natural gas traded higher, rising off a 10-week low ahead of fresh storage data. Gas for August delivery was last seen up US$0.04 to US$2.08 per million British thermal units after falling to the lowest since May 2 a day earlier.

Scotiabank's Derek Holt, in his morning note, said there were no real global macro forces behind market moves this morning, with focus upon UK and Australian employment readings and how they may inform BoE and RBA moves.

To that end, Holt is already looking ahead to next week's Bank of Canada update. He is not looking for any changes to the BoC's policy of quantitative tightening in next week's communications. "The program will remain on autopilot," he added.

But at the end of the note, Holt added: "I've tried to convey what I think the BoC will do based on their guidance. My personal belief is that they are trying to push settlement balances too low and that they are therefore courting problems in funding markets and possibly future accidents. The FOMC targets excess reserves at 10-12% of GDP and hence vastly higher than the BoC because the FOMC has greater experience and harsh memories of the last time they tried to push cash in the banking system so low. The BoC may face this lesson in future and should tread much more carefully. The one thing the BoC has in its favour, however, is that the FOMC has its back; at the end of the day, it's how the FOMC manages excess reserves and liquidity that matters the most including its spillover effects into Canada."

Meanwhile, the Fed's easing cycle may be "shallower than presumed" once 'popunomics' is invoked, according to a Macquarie strategist. Thierry Wizman, Global FX & Rates at Macquarie, said U.S. inflation may continue to stay low in the next few months and allow the Fed to start easing in September. But, Wizman added, once 'popunomics' -- which is a term used in referring to J.D. Vance's populist economic vision -- is invoked, "inflation will be a feature of the system." U.S. yields may again rise, and the Fed's easing cycle may be shallower than presumed, he added.