The Toronto stock market was negative Wednesday as worries about the pace of global growth raised concerns about demand for commodities and sent prices for energy and metals lower.
The S&P/TSX index dipped 66.65 points to begin Wednesday trading at 12,053.27
The Canadian dollar ducked back 0.56 cents at 97.36 cents U.S.
Further prospects for a sluggish recovery sent oil prices tumbling. Suncor Energy shed 33 cents to $28.08.
The base metals component lost as copper, viewed as an economic bellwether, slid nine cents to $3.21 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources fell 75 cents to $26.
Both oil and copper sustained steep declines on Monday in the wake of Chinese growth data that failed to meet expectations. The world’s second-largest economy grew at a 7.7 per cent rate in the most recent quarter, crushing hopes for growth of around 8%.
The gold sector was off as bullion prices continued to back off after an attempt at a rally Tuesday. Kinross Gold faded nine cents to $5.39.
The telecom sector was the only advancer, with Telus Corp. ahead 73 cents to $36.01.
In other corporate news, Montreal-based engineering company Genivar Inc. plans to change its name to WSP Global. It said it is making the change to reflect its growth into 35 countries with last year’s acquisition of U.K.-based engineering services company WSP Group.
Genivar shares were four cents lower to $24.16.
On the economic front, the Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1%. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1 1/4% and the deposit rate is 3/4 of 1%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 12.37 points to 947.63
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower at the outset, weighed mostly by metals and mining, down 4.1%, global base metals slid 2.8%, and energy, 1.4% less energetic.
The four gainers were led by gold, up 1.2%, information technology, up 0.3%, and health-care, 0.1% more robust.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks opened lower Wednesday as investors reacted to disappointing earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrials Average lost 124.81 points to open at 14,632
The S&P 500 index subsided 16.08 points to 1,558.49. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite retreated 50.18 points to 3,214.45.
Bank of America was the biggest drag on the Dow, after it missed first-quarter earnings estimates, despite an uptick in revenue. Higher investment banking revenue was offset by lower mortgage banking income.
Shares of Yahoo continued to slide, one day after the company reported slumping first-quarter sales and issued a downbeat outlook.
Intel shares also edged lower after the chipmaker posted earnings and sales in line with expectations. The company reported another decline in chip sales for PCs, however, with revenue from that business falling 6% compared to a year earlier.
Riding the tech downturn, shares of Apple hit a new 52-week low early Wednesday. The stock has been plagued by worries about slowing iPhone demand.
Fairway Group Holdings, the parent of Fairway Market, priced an initial public offering at $13 U.S. a share -- above its estimated range. The company will start trading Wednesday under the ticker FWM.
American Express and eBay are due to report results after the close.
On the economic front, in economic news, the Federal Reserve will release the April edition of its Beige Book, a survey of regional economies, at 2 p.m. ET.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.70% from Tuesday’s 1.72%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices docked 96 cents to $87.76 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained 40 cents to $1,387 U.S. an ounce, off its highs of the day.
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