A relentless slide in oil prices gave a further blow to global investors' appetite for riskier assets and pushed global markets lower.
The S&P/TSX composite index was ahead 60.07 points to close Tuesday at 12,002.24.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.22 cents to 68.37 cents U.S. early Wednesday.
A legal protest by the company over a meeting among big U.S. railroads about mergers in their industry has highlighted maneuvering in the sector to cope with a rapid downturn and possible consolidation.
Canadian Pacific Railway on Tuesday asked the U.S. Justice Department to look into statements by U.S. railroads, in the wake of the meeting, about "working closely with each other to block" its bid for Norfolk Southern Corp.
Husky Energy cut $800 million from its 2016 capital budget and slashed production guidance by 15,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day on Tuesday in the latest sign that Canadian producers are scrambling to cope with low oil prices. The company also scrapped its fourth-quarter dividend, just a few months after surprising investors by switching to a stock dividend from cash payments.
BMO cut the target price on Alamos Gold Inc to $6.50 from $7.50 as the ramp-up of Young-Davidson site appears delayed compared to previous assumption of an 8ktpd rate by the end of 2016.
National Bank Financial cut the target price on Pason Systems to $19.00 from $22.00 based on close correlation with the rig count and valuation on updated estimates, which is apt to trend sideways to lower in the near term
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that manufacturing sales in November increased 1.0% to $50.8 billion, led by higher motor vehicle sales in Ontario.
The agency also said wholesale trade rose for the first time in five months, up 1.8% to $55.9 billion in November.
StatsCan added that sales were higher in four of seven subsectors, led by motor vehicle and parts. Excluding this subsector, wholesale sales were up 1.2% in November.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 4.7 points Tuesday to 480.37.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are sharply lower, in sync with their brethren in Europe and Asia.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 256 points, or 1.6%, to 15,657, futures for the S&P 500 slid 29 points, or 1.6%, to 1,844. NASDAQ futures skidded 73.75 points, or 1.8%, to 4,070.75
Shell shares are down more than 3% after the oil major gave a downbeat market update ahead of a shareholder's vote on its proposed merger with BG.
Netflix shares surged more than 6% during extended trading after the company revealed it reached 75 million subscribers last quarter.
IBM's shares were down 5% pre-market after the company issued a disappointing earnings report.
Companies including Goldman Sachs and TE Connectivity will post their quarterly earnings updates before the opening bell. Kinder Morgan, Logitech and Raymond James Financial will issue results after the market close.
European markets are sharply lower, with main indexes down around 3% lower at the open. Asian markets ended firmly in negative territory. The Nikkei closed down 3.7%, and entered a bear market. The Hang Seng ended down 3.8% and shares in Shanghai shed 1%.
Oil prices dove 83 cents to $27.63 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices hiked $13.84 to $1,101.25 U.S. an ounce.
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