Equities gave reaching for another high the "old college try" Wednesday, but fell just short by the final bell, as energy and health-care stocks failed to deliver.
TSX Composite index ended negative 9.43 points at 20,290.60.
The Canadian dollar subtracted 0.19 cents to 80.07 cents U.S.
Westshore Terminals was one of the stars of the industrial sector, gaining 30 cents, or 1.8%, to $17.49, while Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers hiked $1.28, or 1.7% to $75.31.
In resource stocks, Hudbay Minerals shot higher 52 cents, or 6.5%, to $8.48, while West Fraser Timber hiked $6.15, or 7.1%, to $92.97.
In utilities, Innergex took on 48 cents, or 2.1%, to $22.98, while Transalta Renewables grabbed 56 cents, or 2.6%, to $21.79.
Energy stocks took steps backward, though, as MEG Energy dropped 41 cents, or 4.6%, to $8.50, while Whitecap Resources lost 28 cents, or 4.4%, to $6.12.
Health-care stocks went south, too, with Aurora Cannabis trailing 42 cents, or 4.1%, to $9.94, and Canopy Growth stumbled 80 cents, or 2.8%, to $27.72.
Among tech issues, BlackBerry soured 74 cents, or 4.9%, to $14.32, while Sierra Wireless fell 73 cents, or 3%, to $23.26.
Macroeconomically speaking, Western University reported its IVEY School of Business’ Purchasing Managers Index progressed to 71.9 in June, up from 64.7 in May, and much better than the 58.2 reading for June 2020.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dumped 12.74 points, or 1.4%, to 939.82.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly split on the day, with industrials churning 1% higher, materials, climbing 0.6%, and utilities better by 0.4%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by energy, failing 2.2%, health-care, scaling back 2.1%, and information technology, off 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 rose to a fresh record on Wednesday as investors poured back into trusty mega-cap technology stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 104.42 points to 34,681.79.
The S&P 500 regained 14.59 points to 4,358.13
The NASDAQ gained 1.42 points to 14,665.06.
With rates falling and Wall Street fretting about a peak in economic growth, investors have rediscovered their old Big Tech favorites. Apple and Amazon are both up about 15% over the past month, far outpacing the S&P 500's 3.1% return. Apple rose 1.8% and Amazon gained nearly 0.6%.
Energy stocks were in the red as oil prices fell. Occidental Petroleum fell nearly 3.4% and APA Corp. and Pioneer Natural Resources both dipped about 2.3%.
Bank shares including Goldman Sachs and Bank of America continued their retreat on Wednesday as long-term bond yields fell further.
The Federal Reserve’s minutes from its June 15-16 meeting, during which it held short-term interest rates near zero but also indicated that it might be adjusting policy otherwise in the months ahead, revealed the central bank discussed tapering but was in no rush to start the process.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys gained ground, lowering yields to 1.32% from Tuesday’s 1.36%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped $1.46 to $71.91 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $8.80 to $1,803.00 U.S. an ounce.
