Equities in Toronto remained negative by midday Wednesday – though off their lows of the morning -- as weakness in oil prices weighed on the energy sector, offsetting modest strength in gold-mining shares.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was still in the red 16.79 points to greet noon at 15,296.34
The Canadian dollar was stable at 74.86 cents U.S.
Among health-care concerns, Canopy Growth Corporation dwindled in price 13 cents to $9.72, on new private placement financing.
The energy group retreated, as Suncor Energy gave back 0.4% to $40.38, and TransCanada Corp was down 0.3% at $60.92.
The financials group slipped, as Royal Bank of Canada fell 0.6% to $94.86, and Toronto Dominion Bank slipped 0.5% to $64.50.
The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, found upward mobility, as Barrick Gold advanced 0.4% to $26.10. Teck Resources Ltd gained 2.1% to $27.86.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange plunged 6.07 points to 798.29
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided, as laggards were weighed most by health-care, doffing 1.3%, energy, shedding 0.9% worth of strength, and financials dipped 0.4%.
The half-dozen gainers were led by telecoms, up 0.5%, while consumer staples and materials each climbed 0.4%,
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities reversed most losses on Wednesday as Wall Street continued to monitor developments regarding the House's health-care proposal and oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrials remained negative 4.85 points to 20,663.16, with Nike contributing the most losses. Nike's stock declined 6% on the back of mixed quarterly results.
The S&P 500 moved up 4.67 points to 2,348.69, with information technology rising 0.8% to lead advancers.
The NASDAQ strengthened 21.32 points to 5,815.14
Stocks suffered their worst day of the year Tuesday — in part — because of fears that a prolonged battle in Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare could delay tax reform, deregulation and government spending.
The House is expected to vote on the Republican health-care bill on Thursday, but Obamacare's replacement has seen pressure not just from Democrats, but from some conservative GOP members as well.
In economic news, existing home sales data for February showed a decline of 3.7%.
Also on investors' minds were oil prices, which continued falling after of the Energy Information Administration said U.S. inventories rose by five million barrels last week. U.S. crude futures for May delivery fell 1.8% to $47.37 per barrel.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained, lowering yields to 2.41% from Tuesday’s 2.42%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices stayed lower 40 cents to $47.84 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $1.80 to $1,248.30 U.S. an ounce.
