The Toronto stock market was lower Wednesday amid doubts about efforts to revive Japan's economy while traders looked to economic reports that may offer a clue about how long the U.S. Federal Reserve will continue with its economic stimulus plans.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index tumbled 140.02 points, or 1.1%, to greet noon at 12,453.95
The Canadian dollar backtracked 0.09 cents to 96.62 cents U.S.
The base metals sector declined, while July copper on the New York Mercantile Exchange added one cent to $3.38 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources dropped 35 cents to $27.47.
The telecom sector was lower, a day after Industry Minister Christian Paradis said Mobilicity and other new wireless carriers won't be allowed to sell spectrum to big carriers.
The move was a setback for Telus which had asked permission to acquire Mobilicity and its spectrum. Telus shares shed 49 cents to $35.32.
The energy sector was off as Suncor Energy gave back 16 cents to $31.62.
The gold sector led advances as Barrick Gold Corp. improved by 30 cents to $21.88.
In corporate news, Penn West Petroleum Ltd. says it will be cutting its quarterly dividend by half, slashing 10% of its staff and undertake a strategic review of the company with a new president and chief executive officer in place.
The Calgary-based company says a former senior executive from Marathon Oil, David Roberts, will become the new CEO and president on June 19 and the current CEO, Murray Nunns, will retire on July 1. Its shares added five cents to $10.95.
Groupe TVA says it will cut 90 positions or 4.5% of its workforce, citing difficult advertising conditions for the media industry. The Montreal-based television company is a subsidiary of Quebecor. TVA shares were unchanged at $9.50 while Quebecor slipped eight cents to $46.43.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada says municipalities issued $7 billion worth of building permits in April, up 10.5% from March and far better than the month-to-month decline that analysts had expected.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 6.37 points to at 952.53
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower, weighed mostly by industrials, sliding 1.8%, utilities, falling 1.6%, and global base metals, down 1.5%.
The lone gainer was gold, shining 0.6% brighter.
ON WALLSTREET
Persistent worries about when the U.S. Federal Reserve will start tapering its bond buying program had investors on edge once again Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrials stumbled 159.03 points, or 1.1%, to 15,018.50
The S&P 500 index shed 17.67 points to 1,613.71. The tech-rich NASDAQ Composite fell 35.73 points to 3,409.53.
The day's selloff was broad-based, with all 10 S&P 500 sectors in the red.
Apple shares slipped after the International Trade Commission ruled that several older Apple products violate a Samsung patent and can't be sold within the United States.
Shares of Toyota dropped after the automaker recalled nearly a quarter million hybrids to fix brakes.
In economic news, payroll-processor ADP said the private sector added 135,000 jobs in May, less than the 157,000 economists were expecting.
The weak reading gave investors hope that the Fed, which currently buys $85 billion U.S. a month of mortgage-backed securities and Treasuries, won't pare back its bond buying program anytime soon.
The ADP report is typically considered a prelude to the U.S. government's closely watched monthly jobs report. That report is due before the bell Friday.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury pointed upward, lowering yields to 2.09% from Tuesday’s 2.13%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices took on 55 cents to $93.86 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $5.70 to $1,402.90 U.S. an ounce
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