Canada's main stock index opened lower on Wednesday, tracking a drop in global markets
The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 38.1 points Wednesday to 16,029.81
The Canadian dollar gained 0.12 cents at 76.08 cents U.S.
Australian rural services firm Ruralco Holdings backed a $337-million U.S. takeover bid by Canada's Nutrien, the latest potential tie-up in a sector consolidating in the face of severe drought.
Nutrien shares tacked on 18 cents to $72.60.
National Bank of Canada raised the price target on Bank of Montreal to $116.00 from $114.00.
BMO shares added 82 cents to $102.48.
CIBC downgraded the rating on Bank of Nova Scotia to neutral. Shares in Scotiabank docked 42 cents to $72.75.
RBC cut the price target on Husky Energy to $17.00 from $19.00. Husky shares fell 23 cents, or 1.6%, to $14.54.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada said the consumer price index rose 1.4% on a year-over-year basis in January, down from a 2.0% increase in December.
On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, the CPI declined 0.1% in January.
The agency also reported that average weekly earnings of Canadian non-farm workers totaled $1,012 in December, little changed from the previous month, but up 1.8% from December 2017.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 1.32 points to 622.63
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups slackened in the first hour, as gold dulled in price 0.9%, while utilities weakened 0.8%, and real-estate backtracked 0.7%.
The two gainers were energy, ahead 0.3%, and consumer staples, nosing up 0.03%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Wednesday as the top Federal Reserve official was set to testify for a second day in a row.
The Dow Jones Industrials dumped 143.46 points to begin Wednesday at 25,914.52, as UnitedHealth underperformed.
The S&P 500 slumped 16.56 points to 2,777.34, led lower by the communications services and tech sectors.
The NASDAQ Composite fell 56.69 points to 7,492.60
Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet all traded down at least 1%.
Shares of Lowe's rallied more than 4% after releasing its quarterly results. The company also noted the U.S. economy remains "sound."
General Electric also rose 2.2% after Merrill analyst Andrew Obin said in a note that liabilities from GE Capital's insurance business are "likely contained."
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to testify in front of a House committee. On Tuesday, he told members of the Senate Banking Committee the central banks remains "patient" in its approach to monetary policy. Powell also described the U.S. economic outlook as "generally favorable" but one that faces challenges from abroad.
Meanwhile, a summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un got underway.
The Trump-Kim summit comes ahead of their second summit in less than a year, with investors monitoring whether the meeting can break a stalemate over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and end more than 70 years of hostility. Trump said he hoped the summit will be "equal or greater" relative to last year's meeting with Kim.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury slipped, raising yields to 2.67% from Tuesday’s 2.64%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices picked up $1.06 to $56.56 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped four cents to $1,324.50 U.S. an ounce.
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