Stocks in Toronto opened lower on Wednesday, as a retreat by bank and resource stocks kept the index under pressure.
The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 56.58 points to open the midweek session at 15,289.86
The Canadian dollar regained 0.34 cents to 81.76 cents U.S.
Manulife Financial weighed mostly on an ailing financial sector, sliding 32 cents, or 1.4%, to $21.76.
Gold stocks took their knocks, too, as New Gold slipped eight cents, or 1.9%, in price to $4.10.
Lifting stocks up were gains in global base metals, most notably Orbite Aluminum, up 3.9%, to 27 cents.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stepped back 0.46 points to 699.71
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher in the first hour of trading, led by global base metals, up 0.8%, while telecoms and energy each sparked 0.5%.
The five laggards were weighed mostly by financials, down 1%, gold, off 0.9%, information technology, sliding 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded in a narrow range on Wednesday as investors weighed mixed reports from major corporations.
The Dow Jones Industrials retreated 38.74 points to 17,910.85, with Boeing and Dupont the greatest laggards and McDonald's and Visa leading advancers.
The S&P 500 index shed 1.93 points to 2,095.36, with industrials leading six sectors lower and utilities the greatest advancer.
The NASDAQ index moved lower 13.46 points to 5,000.65
Coca-Cola jumped more than 1% after reporting an adjusted 48 cents U.S. per share for the first quarter, six cents above estimates, with revenue also above forecasts. Global case volume did fall short of estimates, although the company delivered a better-than-expected quarter in the European market.
McDonald's spiked more than 4.5% in early trade as investors cheered a turnaround plan expected on May 4. However, the fast food chain's earnings missed on both the top and bottom lines
Boeing dipped more than 1.5% after reporting earnings of $1.97 U.S. per share for the first quarter, above estimates of $1.81 U.S.
Revenue was slightly shy of forecasts, but the company reaffirmed its full year guidance for both earnings and revenue. Boeing also delivered 184 commercial jets compared to 161 in the year ago quarter, and also met its goal of delivering 30 787 jets during the quarter.
Housing data will also be in focus, with the FHFA house price index for February showing a 0.7% increase from the previous month. Analysts polled by Reuters expected a 0.3% gain.
Existing home sales data for March beat expectations at 5.19 million. The report was expected to show a second consecutive monthly increase, to just over five million, broadly matching the average monthly reading since last summer.
Total mortgage application volume rose 2.3% week to week on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending April 17, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries dropped sharply, raising yields to 1.95% from Tuesday’s 1.90%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices shed 17 cents to $56.44 U.S.
Gold prices dipped $11.60 to $1,191.50 U.S.
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