Equities in Toronto dropped off from the lofty perches of the last few sessions, as tech and health-care took hits.
The TSX Composite Index stepped back 44.74 points to begin Wednesday at 21,974.08.
The Canadian dollar soared 0.63 cents to 79.97 cents U.S.
ATB Capital Markets resumed coverage on AG Growth International with an outperform rating. AG Growth shares skidded 34 cents to $41.86.
National Bank of Canada raised the target price on Agnico Eagle Mines to $99.00 from $94.00. Agnico Eagle shares faltered 87 cents, or 1.1%, to $80.05.
RBC raised the target price on Metro Inc. to $74.00 from $70.00. Metro shares increased in price 12 cents to $72.95.
On the economic slate, StatsCan reported March’s consumer price index rose 6.7% on a year-over-year basis in March, up from a 5.7% gain in February. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.9% in March.
Moreover, the agency says, new home prices for Canada rose 1.2% compared with February. Prices were up in 18 of the 27 census metropolitan areas surveyed and unchanged in nine from February to March.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 2.81 points to 889.97.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower in the first hour, with information technology sliding 3%, while health-care fell 2.1%, and materials were off 1.3%.
The five gainers were led by communications, ahead 1.7%, financials, better by 0.6%, and utilities, clearing breakeven 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose Wednesday as trader pored through the latest quarterly reports and weighed recent moves in interest rates.
The 30-stock index hiked 267.27 points to 35,178.47.
The S&P 500 gained 10.43 points to 4,472.54.
The NASDAQ Composite popped 287.50 points, or 2.2%, to 13,619.66.
The moves came as Netflix fell more than 38% after reporting a loss of 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter. The news led shares of streaming companies Disney, Roku, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount to fall, as investors worried about buying technology stocks ahead of earnings. A slew of analysts also slashed their ratings on Netflix following its first-quarter results.
Meanwhile, IBM rose more than 5% following a beat on earnings and revenue, which helped lift the Dow. Procter & Gamble, another Dow component, reported better-than-expected results and hiked its full-year revenue guidance. Its shares gained more than 2%.
Roughly 12% of S&P 500 companies have reported first-quarter earnings thus far, with 80% of those names beating analyst expectations.
Tesla and United Airlines are slated to report after the bell.
Treasury prices dipped sharply, raising yields to 2.87%, from Tuesday’s 2.94%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 36 cents to $102.20 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices subsided $6.40 to $1,952.60 U.S. an ounce.
