Canada stocks-TSX edges higher ahead of Fed decision

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union is opening the door for Canada to become its first "associate member," a status that is not set out in the bloc's treaties.

The EU and Canada will work together across sectors including manufacturing, AI, critical minerals and energy, she said.

Canada's main stock index rose on Wednesday as oil prices and bond yields paused after a recent surge, while investors braced for a widely anticipated interest-rate hike from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index .GSPTSE climbed 0.34% at 35,706.99 points at 9:57 a.m. ET, with utilities .GSPTTUT and materials .GSPTTMT leading sectoral gains.

• Markets strongly bet that Fed policymakers will lift the benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage point to a 3.75% to 4% range and signal further tightening ahead. The policy decision is due at 2:00 p.m. ET (1800 GMT).
• The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield US10YT=RR dipped to 4.96% on Wednesday but remained close to multi-decade highs touched a day earlier.
• Brent crude prices LCOc1 fell 1.4% to $107.22 a barrel after reports that Saudi Arabia was offering additional crude cargoes via Oman, easing concerns over Middle East supply disruptions.
• "What matters now is the Fed's forward guidance, because anything that moves the U.S. dollar will feed directly into commodity prices and, by extension, Canadian markets," said Sid Mokhtari, market technician and director of institutional equity research at CIBC World Markets.
• A surge in global bond yields has weighed on equity markets in recent weeks as investors fear central banks will keep monetary policy tighter for longer to tame inflationary pressures stemming from soaring energy prices.