Toronto stock market, Wall Street open lower ahead of U.S. Fed meeting

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TORONTO — The Toronto stock market opened lower, as traders stayed wary ahead of a meeting by the U.S. Federal Reserve this week.

The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 12.23 points to 15,470.33.

The loonie was up 0.35 of a cent to 90.85 cents US, as the latest data showed that Canadian manufacturing sales rose 2.5 per cent to $53.7 billion in July, exceeding the previous record of $53.2 billion set in July 2008.

Wall Street was weak with the Dow Jones industrials fading 31.24 points to 16,999.90, the Nasdaq shed 11.93 points to 4,506.97 and the S&P 500 index slipped 3.13 points to 1,981.

Specifically, markets will be looking to see if the statement released by the Fed following its two-day meeting will have any hints by the central bank on whether it will raise interest rates sooner than mid-2015. Short-term rates have been near zero since the financial collapse.

On the commodity markets, the October crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 63 cents to US$93.55 a barrel. December bullion was up $1.30 to US$1,236.40 an ounce, while December copper was up a penny to US$3.09 a pound.