TSX Set For Another Charge At Record Highs -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks are likely to swing between gains and losses Wednesday morning with investors awaiting the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting that concludes later in the day.

Investors will be reacting to data from the U.S. Commerce Department that showed a bigger than expected U.S. trade deficit for the first quarter.

Worries about the violence in Iraq and likely disruptions in oil supply could weigh on the market.

On Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 15.46 points or 0.10 percent at 15,055.89, slightly below its all-time closing high of 15,073.18 on June 18, 2008.

In corporate news, FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. (FLY.V.TO) Wednesday announced that the company and Sierra Nevada Corp. have signed a settlement agreement to renew sales activities and fully settle all outstanding claims between the two parties.

Chartwell Retirement Residences (CSH.UN.TO) has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell four U.S. properties comprised of 827 suites located in Alabama, Michigan, Oklahoma and Tennessee for $136.1 million.

In commodities, crude oil futures for August are up $0.27 or 0.25 percent at $106.14 a barrel.

The Energy Information is scheduled to release its weekly petroleum status report for the week ended June 13th at 10:30 am ET.

A report from the American Petroleum Institute, released late Tuesday, showed crude oil stockpiles to have declined by 5.7 million barrels in the week ended June 13.

Natural gas for July is up $0.044 or 0.94 percent at $4.754 per million btu.

Gold futures for August are down $0.40 or 0.03 percent at $1,271.60 an ounce.

Silver for July is up $0.016 or 0.08 percent at $19.748 an ounce. Meanwhile, copper is up $0.010 or 0.34 percent at $3.071 per pound.

In economic news from the U.S., current account deficit rose more than expected to $111.2 billion in the first quarter. Economists expected a deficit of $99.8 billion for the quarter, compared to a deficit of $81.1 billion in the fourth quarter.

Following the conclusion of the 2-day FOMC meeting, the Fed is scheduled to announce its monetary policy decision at 2 pm ET. The central bank is widely expected to hold interest rates unchanged, while it is expected to continue trimming the size of its asset purchase program by another $10 billion.

Also at 2 pm ET, the Fed will release updated forecasts for the economy.