The Toronto Stock Exchange dropped sharply at the open Wednesday as commodity prices lost ground amid negative investor sentiment.
The S&P/TSX composite index fell 74.64 points to begin Wednesday at 12,182.54
The Canadian dollar fell 0.32 cents Wednesday to 101.67 cents U.S.
In a major Canadian deal, Onex Corp. is leading a $718-million deal to acquire a 4,000-employee German manufacturing company, the first European investment for the Toronto-based company's flagship private equity fund. Onex shares dropped 14 cents soon after the opening bell to $37.93.
In economic news, the Conference Board of Canada said consumer confidence showed improvement this month, following a weak showing in August. The Ottawa-based economic forecaster says its Index of Consumer Confidence increased 6.7 points to 82.2.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 16.35 points to 1,296.86
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were negative, led by the metals and mining subgroup, off 2.1%, materials and gold, down 1.6% each.
The three gainers were telecoms, up 0.5%, consumer staples, gaining 0.2%, and consumer discretionaries, ahead 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks opened mixed Wednesday as investors watched unrest in Greece and Spain.
The Dow Jones Industrial average eased 6.48 points, to open at 13,451.10
The S&P 500 index subtracted 3.81 points, to 1,437.78, and the Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 16.68 points to 3,101.05
Shares of electronic circuit board manufacturer Jabil Circuit dropped more than 6% after the company reported earnings that fell short of expectations.
Shares of Research in Motion rose after the firm reported its BlackBerry services added close to two million subscribers.
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Greece in protest of new austerity measures. In Spain, anti-austerity protests in Madrid turned violent ahead of the Spanish government's intended release of its 2013 budget plans.
Yields on 10-year Spanish bonds shot up to 6.02% after the leader of Catalonia -- the country's richest region -- called for early elections, signaling a lack of confidence in Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. The prime minister is due to speak in New York on Wednesday.
On the economic front, reports will put the housing market in focus. Mortgage applications increased 2.8% last week compared to the previous one, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Also this morning, the U.S. Census Bureau will release data on new home sales for August, and analysts surveyed by Briefing.com expect that to come in at an annual rate of 380,000.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.64% from Tuesday’s 1.68%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for November delivery sank $1.22 to $90.15 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery dropped $15.80 to $1,750.60 U.S. an ounce.
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