Markets in Toronto struggled by Wednesday’s close to make it to breakeven, as losses in industrial and consumer stocks tended to blot out gains among health-care concerns.
The TSX Composite Index faded 5.67 points to finish Wednesday at 17,005.82
The Canadian dollar retreated 0.2 cents to 75.15 cents U.S.
Canopy Growth shares jumped $3.27, or 16.1%, to $23.58, after Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock to "buy," saying Wall Street estimates now look achievable for maybe the first time in its history as a public company.
Elsewhere in health-care, shares in Hexo galloped 10.5 cents, or 4.3%, to $2.56
OceanaGold Corp gained 2.5 cents, or 1%, to $2.53, while Kinross Gold took on 14 cents, or 2.5%, to $5.82.
In the oil patch, Imperial gained six cents to $33.08, while Canadian Natural Resources forged ahead 29 cents to $37.32.
Among industrial issues, Canadian National Railways dipped $2.18, or 1.8%, to $120.47, while Air Canada was grounded 10 cents to $49.78.
Consumer discretionary stocks took their lumps, Canadian Tire docking 93 cents to $155.50, while Magna International dropped $1.52, or 2.1%, to $72.18.
Financials slid, as Scotiabank lost 27 cents to $76.23, while Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce trailed Tuesday’s close by 59 cents at $114.58.
On the macroeconomic front, Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index rose 1.9% on a year-over-year basis in October, matching the increase in August and in September. On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, CPI rose 0.3% in October.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recouped 1.67 points to 524.14
Seven of the 12 Toronto subgroups were positive, as health-care hiked 3.9%, gold leaped 0.8%, and energy found its way higher 0.6%.
The five laggards were weighed most by industrials, off 0.5%, while consumer discretionary stocks dipped 0.4%, financials, down 0.3%
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Wednesday, pulling back from record highs after reports a so-called phase one trade deal between China and the U.S. may not be completed by the end of 2019.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell 112.93 points to 27,821.09.
The S&P 500 doffed 11.72 points to 3,108.46.
The NASDAQ backed off 43.93 points from Tuesday’s all-time high, at 8,526.73
Apple shares dropped to close 1.2% lower along with Caterpillar. Broadcom pulled back 1.9% while Analog Devices and Qualcomm both closed more than 2% lower.
Reports, citing trade experts and people close to the Trump administration, indicated the completion of a partial trade deal could be pushed into 2020 as China seeks more extensive tariff rollbacks.
Earlier, the Wall Street Journal said, citing former Trump administration officials, that the ongoing trade talks could hit an impasse.
Uncertainty around trade also grew after the Senate passed a bill supporting Hong Kong protesters. This led China to accuse the U.S. of interfering in domestic affairs.
Target shares jumped more than 14%, their biggest one-day gain since Aug. 21, after the retailer posted quarterly results that easily beat expectations. Target also raised its full-year profit outlook. Lowe’s advanced 3.9% on stronger-than-forecast earnings and an improved profit forecast for fiscal 2019.
Elsewhere, investors digested the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s meeting in October. The minutes showed Fed officials see little need to cut rates any further. The U.S. central bank decided to lower the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to a range of 1.5% to 1.75% late last month.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury acquired some new ground, lowering yields to 1.74% from Tuesday’s 1.79%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.70 to $56.91 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $1.20 to $1,473.10 U.S. an ounce.
