Canada's main stock index opened lower on Wednesday, pressured by escalating trade tensions and losses in energy shares after oil prices fell.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index got the month of August off to a shaky start, by chucking 84.41 points to start Wednesday’s trading at 16,349.60
The Canadian dollar gained 0.1 cents at 76.90 cents U.S.
Encana on Wednesday posted a 10% rise in adjusted operating profit, helped by an increase in production and higher selling prices for crude.
Encana shares dropped 23 cents, or 1.3%, to $17.72.
Fairfax could become Irish insurer FBD's second largest shareholder by September by converting a bond into equity, according to the latter company’s chief executive.
Fairfax shares climbed $4.47 to $739.47.
Sherritt International said on Tuesday that recent weakness in the price of cobalt, a key material in rechargeable batteries, is expected to be temporary as demand continues to grow from the electric vehicle market.
Sherritt shares dumped five cents, or 5.2%, to 92 cents.
CIBC raises the price target on George Weston to $119.00 from $115.00. Weston shares lost 95 cents to $107.27.
Desjardins raised the rating on Intact Financial to hold from sell, raising its target price to $102.00 from $100.00. Intact shares galloped $7.30, or 7.4%, to $106.54.
RBC raised the target price on Jamieson Wellness to $27.00 from $26.00. Jamieson shares gained 61 cents, or 2.5%, to $25.36.
On the economic front, the seasonally-adjusted IHS Markit Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index came in at 56.9 in July, falling only slightly from June’s survey record high of 57.1 and remained indicative of a strong improvement in overall business conditions.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 0.85 points to 706.06
All but one of the 12 subgroups were negative to start the day, with energy failing 1.2%, materials doffing 1%, and utilities sliding 0.8%.
The lone gainer was in consumer discretionary stocks, up a mere 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
The NASDAQ Composite rose on Wednesday as shares of Apple jumped to a record high on strong quarterly results.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 36.8 points at 25,451.99,
The S&P 500 inched up 5.74 points to 2,822.03,
The NASDAQ strengthened 45.58 points to 7,717.37
Apple gained more than 4% after reporting earnings and revenue for the previous quarter that topped expectations.
The stock's gains gave the broader tech sector a much-needed boost after disappointing quarterly numbers from Facebook and Twitter sent it down sharply. Since July 26, tech has dropped 5.1% through Tuesday's close. The sector rose 0.7% on Wednesday.
Bank shares followed the benchmark yield higher as J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley all rose at least 1%.
Earnings season continued Wednesday, with Restaurant Brands, AMC Entertainment and Generac among the companies that reported before the bell. Tesla is set to release after the close Wednesday.
Wall Street also digested strong employment data from ADP and Moody's Analytics. The two companies said the private payrolls in the U.S. grew by 219,000 in July, more than the 185,000 gain forecast by analysts.
July's job gains were the best since February, when 241,000 jobs were added. The report from ADP and Moody's comes ahead of the U.S. government's monthly non-farm payrolls report, which is scheduled for release Friday.
The Federal Reserve concludes a two-day meeting on monetary policy on Wednesday, with an announcement scheduled for 2 p.m. ET. While market-watchers are not expecting a rise in interest rates, discussion on trade or where the Fed is thinking of heading could be on the table.
Media reports circulated Wednesday that the Trump administration was looking at the possibility of slapping a 25% tariff on $200 billion worth of imported Chinese goods — after initially setting them at 10%.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury dived, raising yields to 3% from Tuesday’s 2.96%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were down $1.08 to $67.69 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slouched $5.80 to $1,227.80 U.S. an ounce.
