Equities in Toronto edged lower on Wednesday, as gains in shares of materials companies were outweighed by a decline in the energy sector.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index faded 3.71 points to begin Wednesday at 16,162.53
The Canadian dollar gained 0.06 cents to 74.72 cents U.S.
The biggest percentage gainer on the TSX were shares of Cronos Group Inc, which jumped 99 cents, or 6.9%, to $15.41, after Bank of America Merrill Lynch double upgraded the cannabis producer's shares, while the price target was upped to $27.00 from $17.00.
Descartes Systems fell $1.48, or 2.8%, to $50.75, followed by shares of Kelt Exploration, down 12 cents, or 2.7%, to $4.35.
Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which has been developing its own regional jet programme, said on Wednesday it was in talks to buy Bombardier 's CRJ aircraft business. Bombardier shares picked up 16 cents, or 7.9%, to $2.12.
Panamanian President-elect Laurentino Cortizo said on Tuesday his government would review a mining contract awarded to a subsidiary of First Quantum Minerals, casting a cloud of uncertainty around a key project for the firm.
First Quantum shares dropped 18 cents, or 1.7%, to $10.41.
National Bank of Canada cut the target price on Roots Corp. to $5.50 from $6.50. Roots shares docked two cents to $3.36.
Royal Bank of Canada cut the price target on Prometic Life Sciences to three cents from 70 cents. Prometic shares were static at three cents.
Royal also cut the price target on Canadian National Railway to $127.00 from $128.00. CN shares fell 36 cents to $120.78.
Citigroup raised the price target on BRP to $49.00 from $45.00. BRP let go of eight cents to $41.91.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nicked higher 2.03 points to 603.03
Eight of the 12 Toronto subgroups were in the green in the first hour of trade, as information technology sprinted 1.6%, industrials gained 0.6%, and communications improved 0.5%
Of the four laggards, energy sagged 1.2%, consumer discretionary dipped 0.6%, and financials, off 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks traded higher on Wednesday, building on the strong gains from the previous session, as Wall Street increased bets that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates soon..
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 101.98 points to begin the mid-week session at 25,434.16
The S&P 500 increased 7.61 points to 2,810.88,
The NASDAQ Composite inched up 1.83 points to 7,528.94.
Tech shares jumped 1% while the utilities and real estate sectors got a boost from lower rates. Apple led the gains in tech, rising more than 2% after CEO Tim Cook said the company had not been targeted by China amid rising U.S.-China trade fears. Salesforce also contributed to tech’s gains, rising more than 3% on stronger than expected earnings.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday the central bank will keep an eye on current developments in the economy, and would do what it must to "sustain the expansion." Powell did, however, note that the central bank could not determine when or how global trade issues would be settled.
Private payrolls increased by just 27,000 in May, according to data from ADP and Moody’s Analytics released Wednesday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected an increase of 173,000 jobs. May’s print was the worst since March 2010.
Trade tensions were slightly assuaged, however, as several Republican lawmakers have noted their opposition to new tariffs on Mexican imports while some have hinted at the possibility of blocking such levies.
Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is scheduled to meet with People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang this weekend. This would be the first in-person meeting between key trade negotiators from the U.S. and China.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury picked up steam, lowering yields to 2.11% from Tuesday’s 2.14%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 68 cents to $52.80 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $10.70 at $1,339.40 U.S. an ounce.
