Resource stocks weighed heavily on Toronto’s market, with energy and materials driving the indexes down.
The S&P/TSX Composite weakened 43.51 points to close Wednesday at 15,397.85
The Canadian dollar stumbled 1.15 cents at 75.41 cents U.S.
In particular, energy stocks had a rough time of it, with Baytex Energy faded 27 cents, or 4.7%, to $5.48, and Suncor Energy doffed 31 cents to $42.43.
Materials stocks took a licking, too, as Cameco Corporation went south $2.93, or 16.9%, to $14.39, while Lundin Mining suffered 14 cents, or 1.9%, to $7.28.
On the other hand, health-care proved the strongest of the gaining subgroups, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals added 13 cents to $20.06, though Canopy Growth Corporation retreated 20 cents, or 2%, to $9.78.
Among industrials, Canadian Pacific Railways advanced $2.08, or 1.1%, to $192.48, while rival Canadian National moved up 67 cents to $92.48.
The Bank of Canada, as expected, announced this morning it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 0.5%. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 0.75% and the deposit rate is 0.25%
Elsewhere on the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported that in November, 574,500 people received regular Employment Insurance benefits, essentially unchanged from the previous month.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 5.15 points to 791.68
Seven of the 12 subgroups had leaned into the negative by day’s end, as energy tumbled 1.4%, materials were down 0.6%, and real-estate was off 0.5%.
The five gainers were led by health-care, triumphing 0.9%, industrials, up 0.4%, and consumer staples, up 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed mixed on Wednesday as investors digested remarks from the top Federal Reserve official, having parsed through a series of corporate earnings and economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrials lurched lower 22.05 to close at 19,804.72, with UnitedHealth and Goldman Sachs contributing the most losses.
The S&P 500 moved up four points to 2,271.89, with financials leading advancers.
The NASDAQ composite index added 16.93 points of gains to 5,555.65, as shares of Netflix rose in choppy trade. The video streaming giant was scheduled to report quarterly results Wednesday after the bell.
Investors also focused on corporate quarterly results, as Goldman Sachs and Citigroup posted better-than-expected earnings. Goldman received a surge in trading revenue, but the stock fell 0.8%
Other companies that posted quarterly earnings include Fastenal and Northern Trust.
In economic news, the Consumer Price Index rose 0.3%, in line with expectations, putting it up 2.1% year over year. This was also the first time CPI rose above 2% since 2014.
Other economic data released Wednesday included industrial production, which grew 0.8% in December, and the NAHB survey for January, which showed homebuilder sentiment pull back slightly.
The Federal Reserve also released its latest Beige Book, which said that a pickup in manufacturing, "widespread" reports of labour shortages and improving business investment set the stage for the central bank's December rate hike.
In prepared remarks, Fed Chair Janet Yellen told an audience in San Francisco the U.S. economy is closing in on the central bank's goals, giving it impetus to start reducing the extreme levels of support it has provided over the past decade.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note weakened considerably, driving up yields to 2.42% from Tuesday’s 2.35%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slumped $1.17 to $51.31 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices slouched $7.80 to $1,205.10 U.S. an ounce.
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