Canadian stocks inched back in seesaw trading Wednesday, with a turn higher in energy issues and gains in the mining group offsetting losses among financials.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell by 29.73 points to close at 11,675.01, for its sixth straight losing session. The index was down more than 100 points soon after the opening bell before making its way briefly into positive territory by noon ET.
The Canadian dollar sank 0.22 cents to 99.90 cents U.S., below parity with the greenback for the first time in weeks.
Financials remained in the red, losing 0.4%. The sector fell alongside U.S. financial stocks as the Spanish government reportedly prepared to nationalize embattled lender Bankia SA, sending bond yields surging.
In Toronto trading, Royal Bank of Canada fell 1.2% to $53.43, Toronto-Dominion Bank pulled back 0.7% to $79.85 and Bank of Montreal fell 0.6% to $56.07.
Elsewhere in the Canadian financial group, shares of wealth management firm CI Financial were down 3.1%. Barclays said CI’s first-quarter results reported Tuesday were in line with its forecast, and that the company remains the strongest operator among its peers.
However, with continued challenges to global equity valuations “and continued skittishness of retail investors, we believe that CI’s valuation, which is more in the territory of a near-term growth company, may be a bit ahead of itself,” wrote Barclays analyst John Aiken in a note to clients.
But energy stocks in Toronto fought earlier declines, as EnCana shares rose 4.2% to $22.38. Canadian Natural Resources gained 0.3% to $30.79 while Talisman Energy narrowed losses to 2.3% at $11.21.
Among miners, shares of Goldcorp rose 3.7% to $35.66 and Barrick Gold climbed 2.8% to $37.73. Agnico-Eagle Mines rose 2.8% to $38.25.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange improved 7.32 points to 1,345.69, while the Nasdaq Canada fell 2.43 points to 379.32.
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower on the day. Industrials slid 0.9%, information technology issues faded 0.8% and global base metals dipped 0.6%.
The half-dozen gainers were led upward by gold stocks, ahead 2%, materials, improving 1%, and health-care issues, up 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks bounced back from a sharp selloff Wednesday but investors continued to fret about Greece and Spain.
Stocks sold off sharply at the open, with all three major indexes down more than 1% before clawing back.
The Dow Jones Industrials swooned 97.03 points to end the day at 12,835.10
The S&P 500 ducked back eight points to 1,355.72. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 11.56 to 2,935.90.
Traders said there was no single catalyst for the rebound. Instead, investors started to sense that the market was oversold on renewed fears over the fiscal and political health of Greece and Spain.
Shares of GlaxoSmithKline declined Wednesday, after the drugmaker said it is taking its previously announced unsolicited $13 U.S. a share offer for Human Genome Sciences directly to shareholders in a hostile bid.
Shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters edged lower, after the company announced late Tuesday that founder and former CEO Robert Stiller had been stripped of his title as chairman for selling more than $125 million U.S. worth of Green Mountain stock earlier this week in a margin call.
Shares of AOL popped after the web portal posted earnings of 22 cents U.S. a share, topping even the most bullish forecasts.
Shares of Walt Disney hit an all-time high after the media company posted strong earnings growth.
Bed Bath & Beyond agreed to buy Cost Plus for almost $495 million U.S., or $22 U.S. per share.
Shares of Macy's dropped after the retailer failed to boost its forecasts. That caused investors to worry about a slowdown in consumer spending, even after the company's results beat analysts' expectations.
After the close Wednesday, News Corp. the media company under siege for a phone hacking scandal in Britain, is expected to post earnings of 31 cents U.S. per share on revenue of $8.2 billion U.S.
Equipment maker Cisco Systems and travel website Priceline.com will also report earnings.
Shares of video game developer Take-Two Interactive Software fell Wednesday, after it announced that it would delay the release of a new game from its popular franchise "Bioshock Infinite."
Investors are growing increasingly wary that Spain might need to inject public sector money to save its fragile banks. Yields on Spanish 10-year bonds crossed 6% for the first time in two weeks Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, Greece continues to weigh on investors' minds. Elections failed to yield a coalition government, which throws into question whether the nation will be able to meet the requirements needed to secure its next round of bailout funds.
The Wall Street Journal reported that euro-zone countries were debating Wednesday whether to delay €5.3 billion in aid.
On the economic slate, inventories at U.S. wholesalers rose in March at the slowest pace in four months as companies kept their stockpiles in line with demand.
The 0.3% gain in stockpiles, which was less than the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey, followed a 0.9% increase in February, the Commerce Department reported today in Washington.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury eased a bit, pushing the yield back up to Tuesday’s 1.84%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil fell 50 cents, to $96.51 U.S.
Gold futures for June delivery tumbled $12.10 to $1,592.70 U.S. an ounce.
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