Canada’s main stock index opened little changed on Wednesday, as gains in the energy sector offset weakness in materials stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index declined 23.56 points to open Wednesday to 15,192.62
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.24 cents at 77.39 cents U.S.
BlackBerry reported a smaller quarterly loss on Wednesday, helped by higher margins from software and services sales.
The company once known as Research In Motion gained 13 cents a share to $16.11
Hudson's Bay Co posted its first profit in eight quarters, but missed expectations as comparable sales and margins declined in some divisions. Bay shares fell 24 cents, or 2.8%, to $8.28.
Lululemon Athletica on Tuesday reported a higher-than-expected fourth-quarter adjusted profit, due to higher sales during the holiday season. In New York, Lululemon rocketed $7.06, or 9%, to $85.77.
Eight Capital cut the target price on Canacol Energy to $7.25 from $7.50. Canacol descended seven cents, or 1.6%, to $4.31.
TD Securities cut the price target on Torex Gold Resources to $14.50 from $19.00. Torex shares lost 58 cents, or 7.1%, to $7.55.
In the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported that average weekly earnings in Canada were $996 in January, little changed from the previous month.
Earnings were up 3.2% compared with January 2017, largely the result of gains in the second half of 2017
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 8.73 points to 794.10
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups started the day in the green, with consumer staples ahead 0.8%, telecoms up 0.5% and real-estate gaining 0.3%.
Health-care weighed most among the five laggards, losing 1.3%, while gold fell 1.2%, and materials, down 1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks fell in choppy trade Wednesday as a decline in tech shares continued to dampen investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average staged a small recovery, taking on 48.58 points to begin the session at 23,906.29, with Intel and Boeing as the worst-performing stocks in the index.
The S&P 500 fell 0.82 points to 2,611.80, with tech falling more than 1%.
The NASDAQ composite Index lost 38.15 points to 6,970.66, as shares of Amazon pulled back 5.7%
In corporate news, analysts at Goldman Sachs are prediction lower iPhone sales in March and for the June quarter than the rest of the Street. They also cut their price target on the stock to $159 from $161.
In economic news, the U.S. economy grew by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the final read on the U.S. economy for the period. Meantime at 10 a.m. ET, pending home sales are scheduled to come out.
Meantime, investors around the world have been keeping a close eye on global trade issues, debating what economic implications there could be if a trade war occurred between China and the U.S. This comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive memorandum that would inflict tariffs on Chinese imports — of up to $60 billion, prompting the Asian nation to retaliate.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained, lowering yields to 2.76% from Tuesday’s 2.78%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 79 cents a barrel to $64.46 U.S.
Gold prices faded $11.30 to $1,336.60 U.S. an ounce.
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