The streak had to end sometime, and stocks in Toronto were almost uniformly pointed downward Wednesday, following several consecutive days of solid gains.
The TSX Composite fell 238.82 points, or 1.2%, to close Wednesday at 20,600.81.
The Canadian dollar gave up 0.17 cents at 74.79 cents U.S.
Health-care placed the biggest burden on the market Wednesday, with Bausch Health Companies bruised 35 cents, or 3.5%, to $9.72, while Tilray handed over eight cents, or 2.9%, to $2.66.
In resource stocks, Lithium Americas forfeited 63 cents, or 7%, to $8.32, while Lithium Americas Argentina Corp. sank 45 cents, or 5.2%, to $8.13.
In gold, Eldorado Gold slipped 56 cents, or 3.2%, to $17.03, while B2Gold dipped 11 cents, or 2.5%, to $4.27.
Only communications found themselves in the green, particularly Cogeco Communications, up 70 cents, or 1.3%. to $56.47, while Rogers Communications, up 52 cents to $61.59.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 4.3 points to 538.82.
All but one the 12 subgroups were lower on the day, with health-care fading 2.3%, materials off 1.9%, and gold down 1.6%.
Only communications were in the win column, and only 0.1% at that.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks tumbled on Wednesday as investors cashed in some profits following the market’s recent hot streak, and FedEx dragged the S&P 500 lower.
The Dow Jones Industrials weakened 475.72 points, or 1.3%, to close Wednesday at 37,082.70.
The S&P 500 dropped 70.02 points, or 1.5%, to 4,698.35.
The NASDAQ flopped 225.28 points, or 1.5%, to 14,777.94. Both the NASDAQ and the Dow had been on pace for their 10th straight day of gains.
FedEx was the biggest laggard in the S&P 500, losing more than 10%. The package delivery giant issued a disappointing revenue outlook for the fiscal year, and reported fiscal second-quarter results that fell short of expectations on the top and bottom lines. The Dow Jones Transportation Average, a price-weighted index of 20 stocks that includes FedEx, fell by 138 points, or 0.9%.
Google-parent Alphabet was among the best performers in the S&P 500, reaching a new 52-week high; it last gained more than 2%.
The pullback comes after a robust session Tuesday when the Dow and the NASDAQ Composite both notched a nine-day advance. Since the Oct. 27 closing low, the Dow Industrials climbed 15.9%, and the S&P 500 jumped 15.8%.
All three major averages remain on pace for a winning December and 2023 as investors look forward to proposed rate cuts from the Federal Reserve in the new year.
The S&P 500 has risen more than 3% this month and more than 22% year to date, while the Dow has added more than 3% and 12%, respectively. The NASDAQ is up by more than 4% for December and 41% for 2023, putting it on pace for its best year since 2020.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury jumped, lowering yields to 3.86% from Tuesday’s 3.93%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices eased back 16 cents to $73.78 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices recovered eight dollars at $2,044.10.
