Markets in Toronto eased a bit at the open on Wednesday, ahead of the minutes from the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee's January meeting which will offer clues on the central bank's monetary thinking.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 15.24 points to begin Wednesday at 12,794.97, after Tuesday’s jump of nearly 1%.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.52 to 98.34 cents U.S.
First Majestic Silver Corp said it would not match a rival offer made by Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp for Orko Silver Corp. It had been competing with the U.S. silver miner to gain control of Orko's Mexico-based La Preciosa project and had to match the offer by Tuesday. First Majestic shares docked one cent to $19.92.
Base metal issues, such as HudBay Minerals, took it on the chin early on, collapsing 36 cents, or 3.4%, to start the day at $10.28.
Gold stocks were also vulnerable, with OceanaGold off 19 cents, or 7.5%, to $2.35.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 9.93 points to 1,161.87
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower to begin Wednesday. Global base metals and gold stocks each surrendered 1.5%, while materials surrendered 1.3%.
The three gainers were health-care and financials, up 0.3% each, and industrials, up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Investors weren't willing to push stocks much higher Wednesday morning, one day after the Dow and S&P closed at new five-year highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average picked up 12.11 points to 14,047.80
The S&P 500 index doffed 2.90 points to 1,528.04. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite shaved off 5.21 points to 3,208.38
Investors have been pulling back a bit after a strong start to the year. All three indexes are up between 6% and 8%, with the Dow just 1.2% shy of its all-time high from October 2007. The S&P 500 is less than 3% below its record high, also set in October 2007.
Homebuilder Toll Brothers reported revenue and earnings that fell short of analysts' expectations. Toll Brothers shares fell 3%.
On the corporate front, Office Depot announced that it would merge with OfficeMax. Shares of OfficeMax shares rose about 10%, while Office Depot's stock dipped.
Mining firm BHP Billiton said lower commodity prices and a weaker U.S. dollar in the second half of 2012 more than offset its stronger volumes. The company also announced that CEO Marius Kloppers will retire in May, and will be succeeded by Andrew Mackenzie, who previously headed the company's division specializing in non-ferrous metals. BHP shares fell 2.8%.
Rio Tinto shares fell, amid tensions surrounding its copper mine in Mongolia. The Mongolian government owns 34% of the mine and is demanding a greater share of profit.
SodaStream shares dropped, even though the Israel-based company announced stronger than expected earnings and revenue in its fourth quarter. The company expects its 2013 revenue to grow 25% over last year, an estimate that was slightly more conservative than analysts' had hoped.
Tesla is scheduled to report results after the closing bell.
Investors shrugged off another round of positive data on the U.S. housing market
Building permits, an indication of future residential construction, rose more than expected in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 925,000. That's up 1.8% from December and marks the best month since June 2008.
Meanwhile, new construction slowed. Housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 890,000 in January. That's 8.5% below the revised December rate.
A separate report on the Producer Price Index showed wholesale prices rose 0.2% in January, slightly less than economists had expected.
At 2 p.m. ET, the U.S. Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its policy meeting from January 29-30, which investors will parse for clues about how long the central bank will continue its stimulus efforts.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury were flat at the outset, keeping yields at Tuesday’s 2.03%.
Oil prices nipped up one cent to $96.67 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $19 to $1,585.30 U.S. an ounce.
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