Equity markets in Toronto slipped on Wednesday as nuclear producer Cameco Corp sunk on news of a scrapped contract and gold miners pulled back ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate decision.
The S&P/TSX Composite lost 32.08 points to greet noon at 15,353.88
The Canadian dollar tapered off 0.24 cents at 76.45 cents U.S.
Cameco fell 11.4% to $14.68 after Tokyo Electric Power, the operator of Japan's wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, scrapped a uranium supply contract worth about $1.3 billion.
Goldcorp Inc fell 1.2%to $20.78 and Kinross Gold Corp declined 2% to $4.97 as gold retreated ahead of the Fed's statement, due at 2 p.m. ET.
The most influential gainers on the Toronto index included some of its biggest insurers, with Manulife Financial up 1.1% to $25.22.
Enerplus Corp rose 3.5% to $12.00, adding to Tuesday's gains after announcing an increase to its capital budget for 2017.
BCE Inc slipped 0.5% to $58.39. The telecom company's Bell Media unit said on Tuesday it is reducing its radio and television industry workforce in more than two dozen locations across the country by an unspecified number.
On the economic beat, Markit Canada reported Wednesday morning its seasonally-adjusted Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index registered 53.5 in January, up from 51.8 in December and above the neutral 50.0 threshold for the 11th straight month.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 1.73 points to 809.07
Seven of the 12 subgroups were lower by noon, as utilities listed lower 0.8%, while gold tailed off 0.7%, and consumer staples fell 0.6%.
The four gainers were co-led by information technology, industrial and energy stocks, each up 0.1%, as financials were unchanged.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities traded mostly lower on Wednesday as investors pored through corporate results and economic data, with the Federal Reserve set to deliver its latest monetary policy decision.
The Dow Jones Industrials eked ahead 3.96 points to 19,868.05, with negative performance by Caterpillar and IBM putting a lid on further gains.
The S&P 500 faltered 3.64 points to 2,275.23, with utilities falling 2% to lead decliners.
The NASDAQ grew 12.9 points to 5,627.69
Companies reporting before the bell Wednesday included ADP, Johnson Controls and Altria, with all three topping bottom-line expectations, but reporting lighter-than-expected sales. Facebook and MetLife are both scheduled to report Wednesday after the close.
In economic news, the latest report from ADP and Moody's showed private companies added 246,000 jobs in January, well above the expected 165,000. January also turned in the best single-month performance since June.
Other data released Wednesday included the IHS Markit Manufacturing index's final read for January, which showed the strongest manufacturing production growth for almost two years.
The Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing index for January came in at 56, above an expected read of 55. December construction spending fell 0.2%, while economist had forecast a gain 0.4%
Meanwhile, the Fed is scheduled to announce its latest decision on U.S. monetary policy at 2 p.m. ET. Market expectations for a rate hike were just 4%
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note lost strength, picking yields up to 2.49%, from Tuesday’s 2.45%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices tacked on 24 cents to $53.05 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices tumbled $4.50 to $1,206.90 U.S. an ounce.
