Canadian equities held up rather better than their American cousins Wednesday, but finished just a trace above breakeven.
The S&P TSX Composite Index gained a mere 7.56 points to close Wednesday’s trading at 12,362.07.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.04 of a cent to 100.10 cents U.S.
In the gold sector, shares of Iamgold Corp. faded by day’s end, 19 cents, to $16.04, while Goldcorp also fell 19 cents to $45.24, while Barrick Gold dipped 21 cents to $47.43, and Kinross Gold doffed two cents to $10.33.
Among energy issues, Talisman Energy ended the day stronger by 62 cents, or nearly 5%, to $13.14, while Whitecap Resources shot higher 37 cents, or 3.7%, to $10.34. Canadian Natural Resources added 13 cents to $36.49. Suncor Inc. shares picked up 48 cents to $34.21.
Also higher in Toronto, Research In Motion Ltd. gained 24 cents to $14.79 Late Tuesday, David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital disclosed that it had bought a stake in the company best known for its BlackBerry handhelds.
The economic cupboard was bare except for word from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), which said national resale housing activity retreated 4.5% in January 2012 from December. This marks the first monthly decline since August 2011 and the biggest monthly decline since July 2010.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 3.55 points to 1,633.58, while the Nasdaq Canada index nipped forward 0.15 points to 412.70
In all, 10 of the 14 Toronto subgroups had faded into the red by the final bell. Industrials and global base metals fared the worst, falling 0.9% each, while health-care stocks dipped 0.5%.
The four gainers were led by energy and real-estate, both gaining 0.4%, while utilities ticked 0.3% higher.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks turned lower Wednesday afternoon, on uncertainty over Greece's debt problems.
The Dow Jones Industrials ditched 97.33 points to close the day at 12,781.
The S&P 500 slid 7.27 points to 1,343.23, while the tech-focused Nasdaq eased 16 points to 2,915.83
Comcast shares popped after the cable provider beat estimates for its fourth-quarter profit and revenue, and announced a 44% increase to its dividend -- as well as a $6.5-billion U.S. stock buyback program.
Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch surged even after the retailer's fourth-quarter profit fell from a year ago.
Shares of Dean Foods jumped after the company's fourth-quarter loss narrowed compared to a year earlier.
Devon Energy's stock moved higher on the company's higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, as production of oil and gas rose.
Shares of Hartford Financial spiked after hedge fund manager John Paulson ramped up pressure on the company, calling for it to spin off the property-and-casualty business from the life insurance business. Paulson trimmed his stake in the company during the fourth quarter, but remains Hartford's largest shareholder.
Shares of Zynga were down sharply after the social gaming company posted a net loss of $404 million U.S. for its full fiscal year due to large stock-based compensation expenses.
Procter & Gamble has found a new buyer for its Pringles unit. Cereal maker Kellogg Co. will pay $2.7 billion U.S. for the distinctively shaped potato chip product. P&G was looking for a buyer for Pringles after a deal fell through last week, in the wake of a scandal at would-be buyer Diamond Foods
Shares of Madison Square Garden, the parent company of the New York Knicks basketball team, continued their rally after surprise star Jeremy Lin won Tuesday's game in Toronto on a last-second basket.
A much anticipated meeting of euro-zone finance ministers scheduled for Wednesday was canceled a day earlier. Jean-Claude Juncker, who heads the Eurogroup of 17 euro-zone finance ministers, said more work needed to be done between Greece and its bailout partners, and that he would hold a conference call in place of Wednesday's meeting.
Greece needs the finance ministers to approve its latest economic reform proposal, in order to secure bailout funds to avoid defaulting on a €14.5-billion bond redemption in March.
The overall euro-zone economy shrank for the first time in more than two years in the fourth quarter of 2011, but the 0.3% decline was not as bad as economists expected. The latest figures were helped by a smaller-than-expected drop in German GDP and surprise growth in France -- the euro-zone's two largest economies.
Meanwhile, a China-European Union summit ended Tuesday with promises for more support from Beijing for debt-straddled Europe.
On the economic calendar, the Empire Manufacturing survey rose to 19.5 in February, from 13.5 the previous month. Analysts were expecting the survey to come in at 14.0.
Industrial production was flat in January, compared to a 1% rise the previous month. Analysts were expecting production to rise by 0.6%.
The February installment of the National Association of Home Builders' Housing Market Index is expected to stand at 26, up from 25 in January.
The Federal Reserve released the minutes from its late-January monetary policy meeting, saying they expected modest economic growth and gradually declining unemployment.
A number of Fed officials remained open to adding more long-term securities to the central bank's balance sheet "if the economic outlook deteriorated."
Treasury prices for the 10-year note eased a bit, lifting yields to 1.93% from Tuesday’s 1.92%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery gained $1.15 to $101.89 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery gained $14.20 to $1,731.90 U.S. an ounce.
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