Canada's main stock index opened lower on Wednesday, as the momentum sparked by expectations for further monetary easing faded, dragging commodity prices lower.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index slid 86.11 points at the outset to 12,425.93.
The Canadian dollar crept up 0.01 cents at 100.46 cents U.S.
In corporate news, CVTech Group Inc. dropped to a loss of $1.4 million in the fourth quarter as it booked a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $2.9 million. That compared to a profit of $3 million a year ago. The company builds and maintains electrical transmission lines in Quebec and the eastern United States.
Canadian Helicopters Group Inc. had a $10.2-million profit in the fourth quarter, a far cry from the $28.8-million loss the company handed in a year earlier.
The Montreal-based company's revenue for the quarter grew by 60% to $68.9 million. On a per-share basis the net income for the quarter amounted to 78 cents per share -- blowing past the consensus estimate of 42 cents per share compiled by Thomson Reuters.
Crocodile Gold Corp. has bought two mines in Australia from AuRico Gold Inc. in a deal worth up to $105 million, the companies said Tuesday.
Crocodile said the deal will add up to 175,000 ounces of production for 2012 to bring the company to between 230,000 and 250,000 ounces for the year.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gave back 5.05 points to 1,570.01, while the Nasdaq Canada index was 2.25 points shy of Tuesday’s close at 412.24
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were negative to begin Wednesday. Industrials chucked 1%, metals and mining stocks were off 0.9%, while their cousins in the global base metals sector were down 0.6%.
The lone gainer was in telecoms, ahead 0.3%, while health-care stocks were flat early on.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks opened mostly flat Wednesday, after a disappointing report on durable goods orders. Investors are expecting big quarterly gains three days before the close of the first quarter.
The Dow Jones Industrials bowed 17.18 points in the first hour to 13,180.50.
The S&P 500 peeked forward 0.70 points to 1,413.22, while the Nasdaq gained 1.47 points to 3,121.85
Stocks have rallied in 2012 on improving economic data and easing concerns about the debt crisis in Europe. With the year's first quarter of trading ending Friday, the Dow has climbed 8%, the
S&P 500 has gained nearly 13% and the Nasdaq is up more than 20%.
Family Dollar Stores reported quarterly earnings of $1.15 U.S. a share on $2.5 billion U.S. in revenue. The results were slightly better than analyst estimates.
Annie's Inc., the organic food maker known for its macaroni & cheese, is expected to begin trading under the ticker BNNY on Wednesday. The company priced shares at $19 U.S., above the established $16 to $18 U.S. range. Annie's has sold five million shares for its initial public offering.
In matters economic, the February report on durable goods orders showed that orders increased 2.2% in February, less than the 2.8% expected by economists.
At 10 a.m. ET, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is scheduled to testify before a House Appropriations subcommittee on the Treasury budget.
The price of an average gallon of regular gas surpassed the $3.90 U.S. mark Wednesday, according to the latest daily survey conducted for the motorist group AAA. Prices are now within a dime of the $4 U.S. threshold after 19 consecutive increases.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury dipped a mite, pushing the yield up to 2.20% from 2.19% Tuesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for May delivery caved $1.77 to $105.56 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery fell $11.30 to $1,673.60 U.S. an ounce.
