Equities in Toronto moved into the red by the close on Wednesday, while investors assessed domestic retail sales data and U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's prepared comments.
The TSX lost 48.19 points to conclude Wednesday at 19,705.95.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.35 cents to 75.96 cents U.S.
Real-estate issues suffered most of the damage, as Northwest Health-care Properties REIT units fell 83 cents, or 10.8%, to $6.86, while units of First Capital REIT jettisoned 48 cents, or 3.2%, to $14.44.
In tech issues, BlackBerry forfeited 19 cents, or 2.9%, to $6.38, while Docebo shares gave up $1.39, or 2.8%, to $48.93.
In the consumer discretionary area, Canada Goose Holdings turned downward 80 cents, or 3.6%, to $21.46, while BRP Inc. let go of $2.49, or 2.4%. to $104.48.
Energy stocks tried to balance things out, as Advantage Oil gained 34 cents, or 4.4%, to $8.15, while Africa Oil squeezed up eight cents, or 2.9%, to $2.84.
In materials, Algoma Steel advanced 31 cents, or 3.2%, to $10.15, while Nutrien sprinted $2.48, or 3.2%, to $80.09.
Industrials moved up the ladder, too, with ATS Corp. jumping $1.28, or 2.1%, to $63.36, while Canadian Pacific captured $1.48, or 1.5%, to $104.07.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported retail sales increased 1.1% to $65.9 billion in April. Sales increased in eight of nine subsectors and were led by increases at general merchandise retailers and food and beverage retailers.
The agency’s new housing price increased 0.1% month over month in May, its first increase since August 2022.
The Bank of Canada also detailed its minutes this afternoon from its latest policy meeting where it surprised markets globally by hiking interest rates for the first time since January. In those minutes, the central bank considered waiting until July to raise interest rates, but ultimately decided to act sooner in the face of hot economic data.
The minutes shed light into the decision to raise its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.75%
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups had lost ground on the session, as real-estate and information technology each doffed 1.2%, while consumer discretionary withered 0.9%.
The four gainers were led by energy, revving up 1.6%, while materials increased 0.4%, and industrials surged 0.3%. Health-care stocks were unchanged by the close.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 4.49 points to 608.26.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 was lower Wednesday as investors took a breather from last week’s market rally and weighed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s latest comments on inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 102.48 points to adjourn Wednesday at 33,951.39.
The S&P 500 faded 23.02 points to 4,365.69.
The NASDAQ index capsized 165.1 points, or 1.2%, to 13,502.20.
Some major tech stocks that enjoyed an extraordinary run because of enthusiasm around artificial intelligence pulled back. Nvidia, which is up nearly 200% this year, slid 1.5%. Shares of Google-parent Alphabet and Netflix are each down by more than 1%. Tesla shares were down more than 3% following a downgrade by Barclays.
Elsewhere, FedEx shares fell more than 2% after the shipping giant posted weaker-than-expected revenue for its most recent quarter. Winnebago shares slid 1% after the motorhome maker missed third-quarter revenue estimates.
Powell said Wednesday that more rate hikes are likely ahead as the central bank tries to combat inflation. Those comments come after the conclusion of last week’s meeting when the central bank held off from raising rates after 10 straight consecutive hikes. However, officials indicated there could be two more quarter-percentage point moves on the horizon this year.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury recovered, lowering yields to 3.72% from Tuesday’s 3.73%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.44 to $72.63 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dulled $3.1 to $1,944.60 U.S. an ounce.
S&P Loses Steam for 3rd Straight Day as Rally Cools
