The Toronto stock market fell into negative territory within an hour of Wednesday’s opening bell, after an initial surge amid a busy day for economic data and corporate earnings.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 1.63 points to kick off Wednesday at 12,580.12
The Canadian dollar eased 0.06 cents to 96.97 cents U.S.
Investors will be looking over earnings from gold miners Yamana Gold, Centerra Gold and Kinross Gold. Yamana shares added 13 cents to $11.00, while Centerra dropped a penny to $4.60, and Kinross began the day at $5.41, up a penny from yesterday’s close.
Insurance giant Great West also posts results Wednesday, along with Suncor Energy and Sherritt International. Great West climbed 14 cents to $30.27, while Suncor dipped 15 cents to $32.55, Sherritt shares fell 13 cents to $3.95.
Earlier in the morning, media company Torstar Corp. had $18 million of net income attributable to shareholders, or 23 cents per share.
That was down from $32.6 million, or 41 cents per share, a year ago with its Harlequin book publishing operations especially affected by lower volumes overseas.
Torstar’s total revenue was $354.9 million, down 7.5% from $383.9 million. Torstar shares fell 70 cents to $5.25.
Talisman Energy reported a $27-million loss from operations, or three cents per share, in the quarter, down from a year earlier profit of $71 million or seven cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had recently lowered their estimates for Talisman to less than a cent per share of adjusted earnings.
Talisman also reported cash flow of $526 million, down from $803 million a year ago. Production averaged 361,000 barrels of oil equivalent, down from 435,000 barrels in the corresponding quarter of 2012. Talisman also revised its 2013 production guidance to the lower end of estimates. Talisman shares let go of 41 cents to $11.53.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported this morning that gross domestic product grew 0.2% in May, that figure’s fifth straight monthly improvement. Service industries, especially retail and wholesale trade, led the charge.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 1.11 points to 915.52
Of the 14 Toronto subgroups, eight were lower at the outset, as materials slumped 1.5%, while the gold and metals and mining groups each gave back 1%.
The half-dozen laggards were headed by information technology, surging 3.5%, while health-care issues were 0.5% haler, and industrials strengthened 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Positive economic numbers helped nudge U.S. stocks higher Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrials vaulted 54.52 points to open at 15,575.10
The S&P 500 index took on 5.07 points to 1,691.03. The NASDAQ added 16.84 points to 3,633.30
More than a year after its much-hyped initial public offering, Facebook's stock finally exceeded its IPO price of $38 U.S., rising more than 1% in early trading.
Shares of Facebook have soared more than 40% since it reported strong earnings last week.
Ahead of the bell, Comcast and MasterCard both reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue.
Diageo, the maker of Johnnie Walker, Guinness and many other name-brand alcoholic beverages, reported full-year results showing steady growth in sales and profits.
Shares of Anheuser Busch, the maker of Budweiser beer, soared, after the company beat earnings forecasts.
Shares of industrial gas producer Air Products soared, after hedge fund manager Bill Ackman disclosed a new stake in the company.
Yelp, Allstate and Metlife are reporting after the close.
Economically speaking, the U.S. government's first estimate of second-quarter GDP showed the economy grew at a 1.7% annual rate. That was an improvement over the first quarter, which grew at a 1.1% annual rate.
Ahead of the GDP figures, payroll processor ADP said the private sector added 200,000 jobs in July, flying high about expectations.
That could spell big gains for the key monthly jobs report, due out Friday. The ADP report is usually seen as a precursor to the government's numbers.
The Fed will release a statement around 2 p.m. ET that could provide more insight into the current mindset of policymakers.
The Fed's various stimulus programs have played a big role in fueling the current bull market, and investors are looking for any hints about when its latest $85-billion-U.S.-a-month bond buying spree might ease.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury dropped sharply, boosting yields to 2.69% from Tuesday’s 2.60%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices acquired 23 cents to $103.31 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank $2.30 to $1,321.70 U.S. an ounce.
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