Equities in Toronto fell by Wednesday’s closing bell, as losses in energy stocks threatened to topple gains in gold and material issues.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index weakened 18.21 points to close Wednesday at 16,484.21
The Canadian dollar recovered 0.22 cents to 76.64 cents U.S.
Gold concerns proved strongest, as New Gold rocketed 21 cents, or 12%, to $1.96, while OceanaGold leaped 33 cents, or 9.8%, to $3.71.
In materials, Wheaton Precious Metals popped $2.07, or 6.4%, to $34.34, while Pan American Silver grew $1.30, or 7.1%, to $19.59.
Health-care stocks were active, too, as the beleaguered CannTrust Holdings gained back 12 cents, or 3.3%, to $3.72, while Aurora Cannabis gained 29 cents, or 3.1%, to $9.66.
Energy took some lumps, though, primarily Nuvista Energy, wobbling 12 cents, or 4.4%, to $2.61, while Precision Drilling lost nine cents, or 4%, to $2.17.
Industrials were also on the losing side, with TFI International shrinking $1.64, or 4.1%, to $38.33, while Canadian National Railway backtracked $3.52, or 2.8%, to $121.06.
Communications were also blurry, mostly, Shaw Communications, down 63 cents, or 2.4%, to $25.65, and Cogeco Communications, sliding $2.37, or 2.2%, to $104.44.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that inflation slowed in June, as the consumer product index took on 2%, following a 2.4% increase in May.
On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, the CPI declined 0.1% in June.
What’s more, said the agency, manufacturing sales rose 1.6% to $58.9 billion in May, following a 0.4% decline in April.
The agency attributes much of the hike to higher sales in the transportation equipment industry.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange grew 7.02 points on the day to 587.19
The 12 Toronto subgroups were evenly divided, as gold shone 3.1% brighter, while materials strengthened 2.1%, and health-care climbed 1.1%
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by energy, down 1.3%, industrials, sliding 1.2%, and communications, doffing 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Wednesday as the corporate earnings season rolled on with companies like CSX and Bank of America releasing their quarterly numbers.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 81.47 points to wind up Wednesday’s session at 27,254.16
The S&P 500 docked 19.62 points to 2,984.42
The NASDAQ Composite slid 37.59 points to 8,185.21
Bank of America reported better-than-expected earnings on Wednesday, driven by the strength of its retail banking operation. However, the company’s CFO warned that lower rates would hit its net interest income growth. The stock rose around 0.7%.
CSX posted Tuesday after the close weaker-than-forecast quarterly results, sending its stock down more than 10%, its biggest one-day drop since 2008. The company also said it expects full-year revenue to fall between 1% and 2%. CSX’s decline pushed the Dow Transports down 3.6%.
United Airlines, meanwhile, reported earnings and revenue that topped analyst expectations and increased its share buyback program by $3 billion.
Cintas shares jumped more than 8% after the First Aid kit maker’s results beat expectations.
More than 7% of S&P 500 companies have reported second-quarter earnings thus far. Of those companies, about 85% have posted profits that beat analyst expectations. The reported earnings growth of those companies is about 3.1%.
Investors came into the earnings season with a bleak outlook on corporate profits. Analysts expected S&P 500 earnings to have fallen by 3% in the second quarter
Netflix, IBM and eBay are all scheduled to report after the close on Wednesday.
Wednesday’s moves come after stocks posted slight losses in the previous session after President Donald Trump’s skeptical comments on the ongoing U.S.-China trade war.
Trump on Tuesday said the world’s two largest economies have a “long way to go” on trade, and suggested that the U.S. could impose sanctions on an additional $325 billion worth of Chinese goods.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose sharply, lowering yields to 2.05% from Tuesday’s 2.11%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost $1.07 at $56.55 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices climbed $16.50 to $1,427.70 U.S. an ounce.
