Equities in Toronto fell back on Wednesday, though investors remain cautious ahead of North American jobs data on Friday and this week's policy decisions by the Bank of Japan and European Central Bank.
The S&P/TSX index dropped 73.41 points to begin Wednesday at 12,608.69
The Canadian dollar gained 0.15 cents to 98.71 cents U.S.
In company news, Suncor Energy Inc. said its average oil sands production rose 6.2% to 375,000 barrels per day in March from 353,000 the previous month.
Separately, the reserve estimate for the company's Terra Nova field offshore Newfoundland has been raised by 21%, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board said on Tuesday. Shares in Suncor backpedaled 30 cents to $30.90.
In the gold sector, Barrick Gold gave back 31 cents, or 1.1%, to $28.40 while Alamos Gold staggered 3.7% to $12.83.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange shed 4.19 points to 1,064.91
All 14 Toronto subgroups began the day negative, weighed mostly by energy stocks, down 1%, while gold and global base metals each shed 0.9%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were little changed early Wednesday, following a weaker-than-forecast report about private sector job growth.
The Dow Jones Industrials sliced off 29.22 points to open at 14,632.80
The S&P 500 index moved lower 3.95 points to 1,566.30. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite reversed 9.55 points to 3,245.31.
On the corporate front, shares of Zynga shot higher after the online gaming firm announced it would soon launch its first real money games -- ZyngaPlusPoker and ZyngaPlusCasino -- in the U.K.
Monsanto shares rose after the company's profit and earnings topped expectations on strong sales of its biotech seeds.
Shares of ConAgra declined after the food producer said its quarterly profit tumbled 57% due to costs associated with its acquisition of Ralcorp.
Retailer J.C. Penney's shares edged slightly lower even after the company disclosed late Tuesday that it had slashed the pay of CEO Ron Johnson.
Tesla shares declined as investors were unimpressed by the electric car maker's announcement of a new financing option for buyers.
On the economic slate, payroll processing firm ADP reported Wednesday that the U.S private sector added 158,000 jobs in March.
That was weaker than expected and comes just days ahead of the government's closely watched monthly jobs report.
On Friday, the U.S. Labor Department is slated to release the March jobs report ahead of the opening bell. Analysts expect the economy to have added 192,000 jobs last month, according to Briefing.com.
Also on tap Wednesday is the Institute for Supply Management's monthly service-sector index.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained, lowering yields to 1.84% from Tuesday’s 1.86%. Treasury prices yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices retreated 29 cents to $96.66 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $2.70 to $1,573.20 U.S. an ounce.
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