The Toronto stock market was negative in early trading Wednesday as commodities registered steep declines.
The S&P/TSX index fell 127.86 points, or 1%, to greet noon Wednesday at 12,328.64
The Canadian dollar ditched 0.10 cents to 99.17 cents U.S.
The gold sector was down as Goldcorp Inc. faded 70 cents to $29.12.
The energy sector fell as Canadian Natural Resources lost 38 cents to $29.17.
Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. posted net income for the first quarter of $177 million, or 37 cents per share, down from $318 million, or 66 cents per share in the same period a year earlier. That missed the average analyst estimate of 41 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters and its shares shed 15 cents to $19.64.
Talisman Energy posted a quarterly net loss of $213 million, or 21 cents per share, in the first quarter, compared with a profit of $291 million, or 28 cents per share, a year earlier.
The company's cash flow fell 39% to $517 million and its shares gave back 53 cents to $11.55.
The tech sector was also weak with BlackBerry down 45 cents to $16.05.
Elsewhere on the earnings front, Loblaw Companies Ltd. jumped $2.02 to $44.77 as it reported a 40% increase in first-quarter net income to $171 million or 61 cents per share, up from $122 million or 43 cents in the year-earlier period as revenue rose to $7.2 billion from $6.94 billion.
The grocer is also increasing its quarterly dividend to 24 cents per common share from 22 cents and added it plans to compete in the initial public offering of its real estate investment trust in early to mid-July.
The Jean Coutu Group Inc. earned a net profit of $53.6 million or 25 cents per share in the latest period. That was down from $62 million or 28 cents per share a year ago.
Revenue at the Quebec-based operator of more than 400 franchised drug stores in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick slipped to $682.7 million from $727.2 million. Its shares declined 45 cents to $16.30.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange doffed 9.84 Wednesday to 955.96
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower midday, weighed mostly by gold, falling 3.7%, while metals and mining stocks were down 3%, and materials tumbled 2.8%.
The lone gainer was in consumer discretionary stocks, up 0.3%, while telecoms were flat at noon.
ON WALLSTREET
While it's only the first trading day of the month, investors are starting by taking a step back, as a result, stocks remained negative by noon ET.
The Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 64.94 points to 14,774.90
The S&P 500 index dipped 7.01 to 1,590.56. The NASDAQ Composite shed 14.59 points to 3,314.20
Shares of T-Mobile jumped 40% as they made their debut on the New York Stock Exchange following the merger with MetroPCS.
Genworth Financial's stock price surged after the company said that its quarterly profit more than doubled.
Comcast advanced after the company reported an increase in profit and revenue, which the company attributed to the success of video and high-speed Internet subscriptions.
Time Warner reported a dip in first quarter sales but a jump in profit, propelled by "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," a box office hit surpassing $1 billion U.S.
Shares of MasterCard slipped, despite the credit card company reporting a quarterly increase in sales and profit.
Facebook is on deck to report earnings in the afternoon.
Apple's stock price edged down, a day after rising more than 3% ahead of its record $17-billion U.S. bond sale.
Investors are waiting for the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy-making committee to wrap up its two-day meeting for any signs as to how long it will continue its aggressive monetary policies. The market is widely expecting the central bank will continue its bond buying program to keep supporting the U.S. economy.
Economically speaking, investors will also look to a handful of economic reports that come ahead of the government's monthly jobs data due Friday.
Payroll processor ADP published its monthly data on private-sector jobs, showing that only 119,000 jobs were added in April, below forecasts.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury jumped, pushing yields lower to 1.62% from Tuesday’s 1.68%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid $3.27 to $90.19 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices were down $32.10 at $1,440 U.S. an ounce
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