Canada's main stock index fought its way into the green on Wednesday, despite losses in global stocks, on the strength of energy and tech stocks
The S&P/TSX Composite Index pulled doggedly ahead of Tuesday’s close, gaining 6.39 points to finish Wednesday’s trading at 16,074.30
The Canadian dollar gained 0.07 cents at 76.03 cents U.S.
Gold lost the most Wednesday, with Barrick Gold behind 17 cents, or 1%, to $16.42, while Goldcorp declined 32 cents, or 2.3%, to $13.88.
Among material stocks, Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd fell 36 cents, or 13%, the most on the TSX, to $2.42, after company announced its 2019 forecast. Agnico Eagle Mines faded $1.16, or 2%, to $55.79.
Real-estate issues also lost ground, with units of Dream Office REIT dipping 24 cents, or 1%, to $24.00.
Energy stocks were feeling the best by day’s end, as Suncor Energy gained 54 cents, or 1.2%, to $45.45, while Imperial Oil took on 42 cents, or 1.2%, to $36.01
Among techs, BlackBerry inched up two cents to $11.43, while Shopify ballooned $4.18, or 1.7%, to $248.32.
Industrials also performed well, as Canadian National Railway advanced 22 cents to $113.94, while Air Canada took flight 39 cents, or 1.2% to $34.31.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada said the consumer price index rose 1.4% on a year-over-year basis in January, down from a 2.0% increase in December.
On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, the CPI declined 0.1% in January.
The agency also reported that average weekly earnings of Canadian non-farm workers totaled $1,012 in December, little changed from the previous month, but up 1.8% from December 2017.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 3.6 points to 620.35
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups stayed negative on the day, as gold paled 2%, while materials plunged 1.3%, and real-estate retreated 0.6%
The five gainers were led by energy, up 0.6%, while information technology acquired 0.5% and industrials moved up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 fell for a second day in a row on Wednesday as investors grappled with key testimonies on U.S.-China trade relations, Federal Reserve monetary policy as well as a host of geopolitical issues.
The 30-stock index came off its lows of the morning, but was still 72.82 points shy of breaking even by the close at 25,985.16, as UnitedHealth underperformed.
The S&P 500 let go of 1.52 points to 2,792.38, led lower by the communications services and health-care sectors.
The NASDAQ Composite regained 5.21 points to 7,554.51. Facebook and Alphabet both closed down. Micron slid 3%.
Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet all traded down at least 1%. Micron was one of the biggest laggards among tech issues, sliding more than 3.5%.
Shares of Lowe's climbed 2.5% after releasing its quarterly results. The company also noted the U.S. economy remains "sound."
General Electric also rose 2.1% after Merrill analyst Andrew Obin said in a note that liabilities from GE Capital's insurance business are "likely contained."
Stocks fell to their lows of the session as U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer hinted that a trade deal was not yet certain, saying that any agreement would need to be more than just purchases by China. The deal would need to be specific and include a matter of enforcement, he said. Lighthizer also noted that it would be a "long process" to implement any deal agreed upon in March.
Lighthizer was testifying in front of the House Ways and Means committee. Trade relations between the U.S. and China lowered this week after President Donald Trump pushed back a deadline on adding additional tariffs on Chinese goods.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell testified in front of a House committee. On Tuesday, he told members of the Senate Banking Committee the central banks remains "patient" in its approach to monetary policy. Powell also described the U.S. economic outlook as "generally favorable" but one that faces challenges from abroad.
Meanwhile, a summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un got underway.
The Trump-Kim summit comes ahead of their second summit in less than a year, with investors monitoring whether the meeting can break a stalemate over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and end more than 70 years of hostility. Trump said he hoped the summit will be "equal or greater" relative to last year's meeting with Kim.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury slipped, raising yields to 2.69% from Tuesday’s 2.64%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices picked up $1.46 to $56.96 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $6.70 to $1,321.80 U.S. an ounce.
