The Toronto stock market was lower near midday Wednesday on growing uncertainty tied to global economic concerns over the European economy and political strife in Egypt.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index faltered 58.91 points to greet noon at 12,119.47
The Canadian dollar regained 0.23 cents at 95.07 cents U.S.
On the TSX, telecom stocks pulled back once again, after Mobilicity pushed back a vote on the company's proposed recapitalization plan by a week.
The struggling wireless service provider, which has reportedly held talks with U.S. telecom giant Verizon, did not give a reason for the delay Wednesday, other than saying it wanted to consider "potential alternatives."
Shares of Canadian wireless companies have been weaker since rumours emerged of a potential new competitor in the domestic industry. Rogers Communications was off 65 cents to $41.72 and Telus fell 92 cents to $31.37.
In earnings, Sandvine Corp, swung to a $900,000 U.S. profit in the second quarter as the Waterloo, Ont.,-based broadband technology provider posted significantly higher revenues in reversing last year's Q2 loss.
Revenues rose 27% to $23.5 million U.S. from $18.6 million U.S. in the same 2012 period. Shares of Sandvine were off 6%, or 12 cents, to $1.99.
China's services sector expanded modestly in June with the vast construction industry acting as a drag on output, in a further sign that the world's second-largest economy is losing momentum.
Two more Portuguese ministers from the junior ruling coalition party were ready to resign, local media said, deepening turmoil that could trigger a snap election and derail Lisbon's exit from a euro-zone/International Monetary Fund bailout.
On the economic docket, Statistics Canada said this morning our merchandise imports fell 3.2% and exports declined 1.6%. So, Canada's trade deficit with the world decreased from $951 million in April to $303 million in May.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 2.82 points to 879.81
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were negative by noon time, as consumer staples, utilities and real-estate each dove 1.1%.
The two gainers were gold, up 1.5%, and materials, ahead 1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. investors were resilient in the face of renewed global worries Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrials regained 80.41 points to 15,012.70
The S&P 500 index picked up 2.74 points to 1,616.82. The tech-rich NASDAQ Composite increased 18.07 points to 3,425.55
U.S. markets are to close at 1 p.m. ET today and are closed Thursday for Independence Day.
Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded three European banks -- Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Barclays --- citing worries over the size of their investment banking portfolios and the impact of new regulations. Shares in all three banks dropped between 1% and 3%.
Investors liked what the saw in the job numbers, mostly from the ADP's monthly figure on private-sector payrolls. These figures came in above expectations. First-time unemployment claims came in slightly below forecasts.
Still, investors are waiting for the big jobs numbers due out Friday. Economists predict the U.S. economy added 155,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 7.5% in June.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury were flat, keeping yields at Tuesday’s 2.47%.
Oil prices added $1.66 to $101.21 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $9.70 to $1,253.10 U.S. an ounce.
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