The Toronto stock market was lower Wednesday, pulled down in part by energy stocks ahead of a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries this week.
The S&P/TSX composite index dipped 35.24 points to close Wednesday at 15,038.41
The Canadian dollar gained 0.16 cents to 88.98 cents U.S.
The OPEC meeting is significant as it comes after months of volatility in the price of oil, which has plummeted over concerns about an imbalance in the commodity's supply and demand.
Investors hopeful of a big supply cut were dealt a blow as OPEC leader Saudi Arabia and fellow member the United Arab Emirates indicated they were unlikely to push for a major change in oil output at the meeting.
In the energy field, Imperial Oil faded 21 cents to $54.87, while Suncor went south 75 cents, or 1.9%, to $38.88 and Canadian Natural Resources gave back 66 cents, or 1.6%, to $41.40
Elsewhere on the TSX, the base metals sector fell as March copper fell two cents to $2.96 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources dipped 35 cents, or 1.8%, to $18.89.
The gold sector fell as Barrick Gold fell 30 cents, or 2%, to $14.53.
Gainers were led by tech, telecoms and health-care. BlackBerry took on 14 cents, or 1.2%, to $11.75, while Telus gathered 39 cents to $42.68.
Financials were also strong, with Toronto-Dominion hiked 28 cents to $57.07, and RBC gained 49 cents to $82.81.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 9.58 points to 771.06.
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher to end the session, as information technology issues surged 0.7%, while telecoms and health-care gained 0.5% each.
Among the half-dozen laggards, energy stocks swooned 2.4%, gold stocks stumbled 2.1%, and materials slid 1.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks fluctuated on Wednesday – the last day before an extended long weekend --- with benchmarks not far from record highs, as investors considered reports on manufacturing and housing in assessing the strength of the U.S. economy.
The Dow Jones Industrials nosed up 12.81 points to close the day at 17,827.75
The S&P 500 gained 5.80 points at 2,072.83. The NASDAQ index moved up 29.07 points to 4,787.32.
Markets stateside are closed Thursday for Thanksgiving and will operate an abbreviated scheduled on Friday.
SeaDrill fell sharply after the offshore driller suspended its dividend after a soft earnings report.
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. moved lower as the farm-equipment maker projected 2015 profit below estimates.
On a busy economic day, 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 dipped 43 cents to $73.66 U.S.
Gold prices dropped 40 cents at $1,196.70 U.S.
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