By Ketki Saxena 

Investing.com — At 1:00 p.m in Toronto, the S&P/TSX Canada’s was at 19,069.00 points, down 0.98%  at midday, even as U.S. benchmark indices rebounded following a speech by Jerome Powell. 

The remained pressured by soaring domestic inflation data (7.7% up from 6.8% in the previous month – that reinforced the case for a 75 basis point hike from the Canadian central bank. Analysts note that such a move is now largely priced into the market. 

The commodity-heavy Canadian index was also pressured by heavy losses in crude, on news of a plan by U.S. President Joe Biden to cut fuel costs for drivers amid concerns over a recession and soaring inflationary pressures.

Materials also weighed heavily on the index as prices slumped to their lowest level in over a year. Known as a bellwether for the economy due to its wide use in a range of industries, the metal is also being pressured by concerns of an economic slowdown. 

Energy stocks were, across the board the biggest losers on the TSX today, including Baytex (-10.89%), Athabasca Oil (-10.45%), MEG Energy (TSX:) (-9.40%), Tamarack Valley (TSX:) (-8.89%) and Crescent Point Energy (TSX:) (-8.89%). 

Today’s biggest gainers included Kinaxis (TSX:) (+5.48%), Shopify (TSX:) (+4.81%), Park Lawn (+3.46%), BlackBerry (TSX:) (+2.38%), and SilverCrest Metals (+2.05%).