Equities in Canada’s largest centre took it on the chin Wednesday, over uncertainty in the Mideast and general economic unease.
The TSX Composite Index faded 249.30 points to conclude Wednesday at 34,041.43.
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.04 cents to 72.96 cents U.S.
Equinox Gold said it would acquire Orla Mining in a deal that would create a North American-focused gold producer with an implied market value of about $18.5 billion.
Shares in Equinox stumbled 38 cents, or 1.9%, to $19..90, while Orla shares gained 16 cents cents to $19.93.
Collision repair operator Boyd Group's first-quarter sales rose 28% but slightly missed analyst expectations. Boyd shares fell $18.32, or 12%, to $134.54.
Among consumer stocks, Aritzia tumbled $4.34, or 2.9%, to $143,57, while Restaurant Brands fell $2.34, or 2.2%, to $104.92.
Tech stocks were also roughed up, with Shopify bruised $6.13, or 4.5%, to $130.24, while Open Text slid $1.44, or 4.4%, to $31.24.
In financials, goeasy Ltd. Gave back $1.57, or 5.1%, to $29.42, while ONEX fell $3.34, or 2.9%, to $110.59.
Gaining stocks proved a select few, as Curaleaf led health-care stocks with a nine-cent gain, or 1.7%, to $5.39, while units of Chartwell Retirement Residences squeezed up 13 cents to $20.86.
In utilities, Transalta Corp. gained 20 cents, or 1.2%, to $17.46, while Northland Power added 40 cents, or 1.7%, to $23.56.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange removed 1.59 points to 1,016.12.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the red, weighed most by information technology, down 1.7%, energy, sliding 1%, and consumer discretionary stocks, slumping 0.8%.
The two gainers were health-care, up 1.3% and materials, inching up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 rose to a new all-time intraday high on Wednesday as traders’ enthusiasm for the technology trade overshadowed yet another hotter-than-expected inflation report.
The Dow Jones Industrials came off their lows of the afternoon, but remained behind 67.36 points, to Wednesday at 49,693.20.
The broader index regained 43.27 points to 7,444.23.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ rocketed 314.14 points, or 1.2%, to 26,402.34.
Technology stocks outperformed from the rest of the market, as inflation fears spurred by higher energy prices due to the Iran war weighed on other sectors such as retail and banking. Nvidia shares traded higher by more than 2%. Micron Technology gained more than 3%.
In contrast, roughly two-thirds of the S&P 500 were lower during the session. That included home improvement retailer Home Depot and others linked to the economic cycle such as key financial stock JPMorgan.
Those moves comes after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang joined President Donald Trump on his trip to China to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
On Wednesday, the producer price index jumped 1.4% in April. That marked the largest monthly increase since March 2022 and was much more than the 0.5% rise that economists polled by Dow Jones were expecting.
Additionally, wholesale inflation gained 6% in April on an annual basis — the biggest since December 2022. That figure was also above the 4.9% consensus estimate.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury dipped a bit, raising yields to 4.47% from Tuesday’s 4.46%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices faded 92 cents to $101.26 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained nine dollars to $4,695.70 U.S. an ounce.
