Equities in Canada’s largest market slipped on Wednesday as inflation data fueled bets of a more aggressive interest rate hike from the Bank of Canada, while a dip in precious metals prices hurt shares of miners.
The TSX Composite came off its lows of the morning, but still trailed the breakeven point 94.62 points to pause for noon hour Wednesday at 18,703.56.
The Canadian dollar declined 0.33 cents to 72.52 cents U.S.
Parkland Corp fell $2.84, or 9.6%, to $26.72, after the food and convenience retailer said it expected third-quarter results to fall below its expectations given a tough macro environment.
Real-estate issues proved the biggest anchor, with units of Canadian Apartment REIT sliding $1.44, or 3.5%, to $39.63, while Tricon Capital skidded 40 cents, or 3.3%, to $11.57.
Gold also weighed, with Equinox Gold down 18 cents, or 4.1%, to $4.25, while Wesdome Gold collapsed 44 cents, or 5.4%, to $7.75.
Health-care also took some knocks, with Bausch dragging 34 cents, or 3.6%, to $9.00, while Chartwell Retirement Residence gave back 22 cents, or 2.5%, to $8.57.
Energy stocks tried valiantly to pick up the slack, with Precision Drilling advancing $4.27, or 5.3%, to $85.29 and Crescent Point Energy up 26 cents, or 2.7%, to $9.78.
In the economic docket, Statistics Canada said its consumer price index rose 6.9% on a year-over-year basis in September, decelerating from a 7.0% gain in August. On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.4% in September.
The Industrial Product Price Index edged up 0.1% month over month in September and was up 9.0% year over year. The Raw Materials Price Index fell 3.2% on a monthly basis in September and rose 11% year over year.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fought its way 0.05 points higher to 588.57.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups faded midday, with real-estate slipping 2%, gold duller 1.7%, and health-care off 1.5%.
Energy was the lone holdout, gaining 1.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were mostly lower on Wednesday as Wall Street struggled to extend its rally despite another strong batch of corporate earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrials forged ahead 14.73 points to 30,538.53.
The S&P 500 dropped 11.23 points to 3,708.75.
The NASDAQ remained negative 45.5 points to 10,729.90.
The tepid moves came even as Netflix shares rallied 15% after the streaming giant posted earnings and revenue that beat estimates as well as strong subscriber growth for the third quarter.
United Airlines climbed more than 7% after it also beat estimates on the top and bottom lines.
The solid start to earnings season comes as many on Wall Street have been resetting their earnings projections lower and investors are worried about a recession. Even though equities have rallied in the first two days of the week, Treasury yields remain high and rose on Wednesday, suggesting that recession fears are still intact.
Among the biggest loses in the NASDAQ were Chinese tech stocks JD.com and Pinduoduo, each falling more than 4%. Abbott Labs was one of the worst performers in the S&P 500, falling more than 7% despite beating third-quarter expectations.
Tech earnings will be in full swing next week, but IBM and Tesla are on deck to report Wednesday. Social media firm Snap will report later in the week.
In economic data, investors are looking forward to housing starts on Wednesday. The Federal Reserve’s so-called Beige Book, the central bank’s report on the current state of economic conditions, will come out as well.
Treasury prices recovered lost ground, dropping yields to 4.10% from Tuesday’s 4%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices advanced 66 cents to $83.48 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell back $19.60 to $1,636.20 U.S. an ounce.
NASDAQ Falls in Choppy Trading
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