Canadian stocks dipped soon after the opening bell on Wednesday as investors avoided placing fresh bets in the absence of any broad market catalyst.
The S&P/TSX composite index slumped 32.36 points to open midweek Wednesday at 14,872.02
The Canadian dollar tacked on 0.23 cents to 91.95 cents U.S.
The battle for Allergan heated up on Tuesday as the company officially rejected a sweetened $53-billion takeover offer from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International and activist investor William Ackman. Valeant shares fell $1.04 to $135.74.
Bombardier Inc said on Tuesday that it had resumed ground engine testing of its all-new CSeries jetliner after an engine failure last week. Bombardier shares slid six cents to $3.79.
Finance Minister Joe Oliver said on Tuesday Canada is "disappointed" that TransCanada Corp's Keystone XL pipeline to the United States has not yet received approval from the White House. Separately, TransCanada said it expected to file an application for its $12-billion Energy East pipeline with energy regulators in mid-August.
TransCanada shares gained 11 cents to $50.55.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange docked 0.66 points to 986.26
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower in early trading, as health-care and consumer staples sank 0.8% each, while global base metals doffed 0.6%.
The two gainers were gold, up 0.3%, and materials, nosing up 0.01%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks are in retreat Wednesday, after surging lately.
The Dow Jones Industrials staggered 70.32 points, to open Wednesday at 16,975.60, from Tuesday’s all-time high
The S&P 500 shed 5.70 points to 1,945.09, and the NASDAQ composite index slumped 6.33 points to 4,331.67.
Today's setback could be driven by the World Bank lowering its Global Economic Outlook for 2014. In a week without much new data, investors are looking for ways to gauge the pulse of the economy.
Facebook took a breather Wednesday from its recent run. The stock is up 14% in the past month and got a good boost this week after eBay announced that PayPal President David Marcus is leaving the e-commerce site to join Facebook.
Shares of Facebook are up almost 20% this year
Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance soared over 13% after the beauty company reported a 19% bump in quarterly profit thanks to an impressive bounce in sales.
H&R Block advanced 6% thanks to strong earnings from the tax preparation firm driven by an uptick in its online business.
Amazon popped after it received a rating upgrade by analysts at Goldman Sachs. The company is currently in a spat with Hachette books and Warner Brothers.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries were higher Wednesday, lowering yields to 2.63% from Tuesday’s 2.64%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices nicked up two cents to $104.37 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hiked $2.70 at $1,262.80 U.S. an ounce.
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