Equities in Canada declined soon after the opening bell on Wednesday as lower oil and gold prices weighed on energy and mining stocks, while financial stocks also declined.
The S&P/TSX Composite was down 33.68 points to begin the session at 14,651.17
The Canadian dollar faded 0.19 cents at 76.2 cents U.S.
Twin Butte Energy debenture holders, who on Monday rejected a takeover bid by Reignwood Resources Holding, have reportedly made an alternative proposal on the deal to the Canadian oil producer's special committee.
NBF raised the target price on Alimentation Couche-Tard to $77.00 from $76.00 with an outperform rating
Barclays upped the price target on Bank of Nova Scotia to $63.00 from $60.00, with an equal-weight rating
National Bank Financial increased the target price on Crew Energy to $8.50 from $7.50, with an outperform rating.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported gross domestic product decreased 0.4% in the second quarter, after increasing 0.6% in the first quarter. This was the largest decline in quarterly GDP since the second quarter of 2009. The agency also says real GDP rose 0.6% in June, essentially offsetting an equivalent decline in May.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 2.68 points to begin Wednesday at 787.67
All but one of the 12 subgroups were negative in the first hour, with gold and utilities each down 0.5%, and health-care lower by 0.4%.
The lone holdout was in consumer discretionary stocks, up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Equities south of the border were slightly lower Wednesday as investors analyzed employment data and looked ahead to Friday's jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrials skidded 20.1 points to 18,434.20, with UnitedHealth Group and McDonald's contributing the most to losses.
The S&P 500 dropped 3.04 points to 2,173.08, as energy lagged
The NASDAQ Composite shed 3.65 points to 5,219.33
The Dow and the S&P also erased all their gains for August, while the NASDAQ held about 1% higher month to date.
Private companies added 177,000 jobs in August, according to the latest report from ADP and Moody's Analytics. Economists expected a gain of 175,000.
Experts expect the August jobs report, due Friday, to show the U.S. economy added 180,000 jobs.
Other data due Wednesday include the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index and pending home sales for July
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.56% from Tuesday’s 1.57%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices settled 35 cents at $45.97 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices subtracted $3.80 at $1,312.70 U.S. an ounce.
