Stocks in Canada’s largest market fought their way to just above the breakeven mark by Wednesday’s closing bell, on the shoulders of consumer staple and tech stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index recovered 6.47 points to finish Wednesday at 15,653.61
The Canadian dollar was down 0.05 cents at 77.21 cents U.S.
Among telecoms, Corus Entertainment gave back 22 cents, or 3%, to $7.01, while BCE ditched $1.12, or 2%, to $56.27.
Suncor Energy was one of the biggest drags on the index for much of the day, after the company said its Syncrude oil sands project in northern Alberta would run at reduced rates in the first quarter due to maintenance. Suncor was down 15 cents at $42.14. Elsewhere in the sector, Pine Cliff Energy dropped 1.9% to 26 cents
In the industrial sector, Grande West Transportation faded 14 cents, or 8.1%, to $1.58, while Bombardier docked two cents to $3.73.
Consumer staples led the gainers, with Saputo gained 10 cents to $41.41, while Restraurant Brands International compiled 74 cents, or 1%, to $75.24.
Tech stocks surged, as Constellation Software leaped $12.91, or 1.5%, to $897.90, while BlackBerry tacked on 21 cents, 1.3%, to $16.58.
Teck Resources rose 48 cents, or 1.4% to $35.49 after India's Steel Minister said state-owned Steel Authority of India was in talks with Teck for long-term purchase agreements. Elsewhere in materials, First Quantum Minerals gained 11 cents to $21.67.
The U.S. Commerce Department said on Tuesday it had made a preliminary finding that some imports from Canada of uncoated groundwood paper used
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 1.77 points to 827.28
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were pointed downward on the day, as telecoms surrendered 0.7%, energy dipped 0.5%, and industrials weakened 0.4%,
The four gainers were led by consumer staples, prospering 0.6%, information technology, up 0.5%, and materials eked out gains of 0.1%.
Financials were unchanged on the day.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones industrial average fell Wednesday as Boeing shares pulled back on worries the U.S. could engage China in a trade war.
The blue chips plummeted 248.91 points, or 1%, to 24,758.12, after opening up more than 100 points. Boeing dropped 2.5% contributing the most to the Dow's decline. The Dow fell as much as 338 points earlier in the session.
Boeing's decline comes after a report said President Donald Trump wishes to slap $60 billion of tariffs on Chinese goods. Investors feared China could target the aerospace giant in retaliation.
Stocks came off their lows after media reports circulated that Trump is planning to name CNBC contributor Larry Kudlow as the next director of the National Economic Council. Boeing shares also rebounded following the news.
The S&P 500 sank 15.83 points to 2,749.48, amid weak performances in materials, financials and consumer staples companies. The index also dipped below its 50-day moving average, a key technical level.
The NASDAQ composite Index dropped 14.2 points to 7,496.81, as shares of Apple declined 0.9%.
In corporate news, Ford Motor Company's stock rallied 2.2% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the company to overweight from underweight.
The bank sees more potential in the American motor vehicle company following "significant changes" to senior management at the company and its efforts to improve its global portfolio.
Shares of Qualcomm closed 0.7% higher after Broadcom announced that it is formally ending its hostile bid for the American chipmaker.
Qualcomm stock fell nearly 5% Tuesday after Trump ordered Broadcom to abandon the deal.
In economic data, U.S. wholesale inflation increased slightly more than expected in February. The U.S. Department of Labor said on Wednesday that its producer price index rose 0.2% last month; economists had expected PPI gaining 0.1%.
So-called core PPI — which excludes volatile food, energy and trade service prices — rose 0.4%.
The Commerce Department said retail sales declined for a third straight month on Wednesday as households curbed purchases of cars and other expensive items. Economists had been expecting sales to rise 0.3%.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note inched forward, lowering yields to 2.82% from Tuesday’s 2.84%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices rebounded 22 cents a barrel to $60.93 U.S.
Gold prices settled $1.40 to $1,325.70 U.S. an ounce.
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