Stocks in Toronto experienced a lower open on Wednesday ahead of an anxiously awaited U.S. Federal Reserve policy report that might end speculation about when by the U.S. central bank will taper its monetary policy.
The S&P/TSX composite index faded 59.41 points to open Wednesday at 12, 610.70
The Canadian dollar shed another 0.41 cents to 95.81 cents U.S.
Department store chain Sears Canada Inc posted a profit in the second quarter compared with a loss a year earlier due to lower costs and growth in its apparels and accessories business. Sears shares lost eight cents to $12.19.
Tanzania-focused miner Africa Barrick Gold, a unit of Barrick Gold, pinned its turnaround hopes on a new chief executive, appointing industry veteran Bradley Gordon to replace Greg Hawkins at the helm of the struggling group. Barrick shares fell 41 cents to $20.19.
TransCanada Corp. said on Tuesday its 700,000-barrel-per-day Gulf Coast pipeline project is now over 90% complete and the company expects the line to be in service by the end of 2013. TransCanada shares fell eight cents to $45.80
CIBC raised the target price on Nordion Inc. to $8.75 from $8 after the company announced that it settled a five-year-old lawsuit with Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. Nordion shares gained four cents to $8.32.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 1.85 points to 930.75
All 14 Toronto subgroups were lower to begin the session, weighed mostly by gold stocks, down 1.8%, materials, off 1.4%, and the metals and mining group, down 1.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were mixed in early trading Wednesday as investors await the release of minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrials faded 36.90 points to begin Wednesday’s session at 14,966.10
The S&P 500 index backtracked 5.10 points to 1,647.25. The NASDAQ slipped 0.78 points to 3,612.81
Corporate earnings remained in focus as several retailers reported results.
Lowe's stock rose after the home improvement retailer announced that its quarterly sales and profit rose from a year earlier. Its strong results come a day after rival Home Depot also issued an upbeat outlook thanks to the continued recovery in the housing market.
Target shares fell even after the retailer announced significant year-over-year gains in sales. Investors seemed worried about a more tepid outlook for consumer spending.
Shares of Staples dropped more than 10% after the office supply retailer reported lower quarterly sales and profit compared to the prior year. The CEO blamed the declines on weakness in retail stores and said the company was working to ramp up its online sales.
Hewlett-Packard will report after the closing bell. The PC and printer giant is this year's best performer in the Dow as investors have embraced the turnaround strategy of CEO Meg Whitman.
Shares of Heineken were down sharply in Europe after the brewer reported earnings that were worse than expected.
The minutes will be released at 2 p.m. ET. Investors will be looking for clues as to when the central bank might begin cutting back on its massive bond-buying program.
In another positive sign for housing, existing home sales rose 6.5% in July from the prior month.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, hiking yields to 2.86% from Tuesday’s 2.81%. Treasury price and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices subsided 46 cents to $104.65 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $9.60 to $1,363 U.S. an ounce.
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