Stock markets in Toronto were somewhat diffident at the opening bell.
The S&P/TSX composite index dipped 39.78 points to open Wednesday at 15,033.87
The Canadian dollar gained 0.17 cents to 88.99 cents U.S.
Santander's Mexico arm said on Tuesday that it had agreed to buy around 4.1 billion pesos ($299.8 million) worth of consumer loans from Scotiabank's Mexico unit. Scotiabank shares eked up seven cents to $70.20.
Canada's largest oil sands producers pledged on Tuesday to make their crude less polluting than conventional oil by cutting water use and lowering energy consumption, as environmental protesters move to block new pipelines to ship the product abroad.
The Northwest Territories, including its Arctic islands and the adjacent Beaufort Sea, hold more than 1.2 billion barrels of crude oil and 16.4 trillion cubic feet of marketable natural gas, the National Energy Board said on Tuesday. TransCanada Corp., for example, added 17 cents to $55.67.
Canaccord Genuity raised the price target on Alimentation Couche-Tard to $45.00 from $44.00, with a buy rating. Couche-Tard shares lost 41 cents to $39.29.
TD Securities raised the price target on Metro Inc. to $93.00 from $92.00, with a hold rating. Metro shares gained 38 cents to $89.30.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 3.83 points to 776.81.
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower in the early going, with energy losing 1.6%, gold sliding 1.5%. and materials down 1.4%.
Telecoms led the four gaining groups, up 0.6%, financials were up 0.2%, and consumer staples took on 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks fluctuated on Wednesday, with benchmarks not far from record highs, after data had durable goods and jobless claims rising.
The Dow Jones Industrials erased 12.29 points to open at 17,802.65
The S&P 500 regained 1.31 points at 2,068.34. The NASDAQ index moved up 10.63 points to 4,768.88.
Shares of Hewlett-Packard slid after the computer maker reported fourth-quarter sales below expectations.
Hertz Global rose as a regulatory filing showed activist investor Carl Icahn boosted his stake in the car-rental supplier by about 11%.
Deere & Co. declined as the farm-equipment maker projected 2015 profit below estimates.
On a busy economic day – the eve of Thanksgiving -- the U.S. government reported orders for durable goods rose in October, while a separate report had applications for unemployment benefits rising by 21,000 to 313,000 last week.
Consumer spending rose 0.2% last month after holding steady in September.
A gauge of business activity in the Chicago area came in below expectations.
The National Association of Realtors reported pending home sales fell 1.1% in October.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained ground, lowering yields to 2.23% from Tuesday’s 2.26%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices continued their swoon, falling 61 cents to $73.48 U.S.
Gold prices were flat at $1,197.10 U.S.
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