Canadian stocks traded higher Wednesday, fighting off pressure from gold stocks and commodities, alongside reports that the nation’s trade deficit worsened in May.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index grew 32.42 points to close the day at 11,544.04
The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.25 cents at 98.05 cents U.S.
Contributing to losses seen among gold miners, shares of Goldcorp Inc. fell $3.80, or 10.1%, to $33.83. Late Tuesday, the company cut its 2012 production outlook.
Specifically, the company’s gold production forecast for 2012 was trimmed to between 2.35 million and 2.45 million ounces, down from 2.6 million, as Goldcorp cited setbacks for its Red Lake mine in Ontario and the Peñasquito mine in Mexico.
Other notable movers among commodities plays included a 3.4% drop in shares of Second Wave Petroleum to 86 cents, and a 4.3% slide by Eldorado Gold Corp. to $11.15, while Niko Resources added $1.82, or 14.8%, to $14.15, and Centerra Gold Inc. tacked on 31 cents, or 4.3%, to $7.53.
Among other energy plays, Suncor fell 66 cents, or 2.3%, to $29.38, while rivals Imperial Oil gained 21 cents to $42.33, and Canadian Natural Resources added 64 cents, or 2.5%, to $26.48
In the financial world, Royal Bank 34 cents to $52.82, while Bank of Montreal advanced 49 cents to $57.66.
Economically speaking, our trade balance changed drastically in May, according to figures released this morning by Statistics Canada.
The agency said merchandise imports increased 0.4% while exports were fairly flat in May. As a result, Canada's trade deficit with the world widened from $623 million in April to $793 million in May.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange headed south 6.57 points to 1,192.79. The Nasdaq Canada index improved 1.96 points to 343.65.
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups gained ground, led upward by energy stocks, climbing 1.9%, consumer staples, up 1.5%, and financials, ahead 0.9%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed mostly by gold, down 2.5%, materials, off 2%, and metals and mining issues, sliding 1.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks turned sharply lower Wednesday afternoon, after the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting offered no new hints that another round of quantitative easing would be coming anytime soon.
The Dow Jones Industrials faded 48.59 points to conclude the day at 12,604.50
The S&P 500 docked 0.03 points to 1,341.44. The Nasdaq Composite Index dumped 14.35 points to 2,887.98.
When JPMorgan reports earnings Friday, the bank is expected to show how much it has lost so far due to the risk-taking of its London Whale trader. The report could generate even more interest if, as The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, the bank will make an example of executives behind the errors and reclaim stock from them worth millions.
Google struck a preliminary deal with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to pay a $22.5-million U.S. fine for evading some privacy settings on Apple's Safari Web browser, a source with knowledge of the settlement told the media.
The fine would be the largest penalty ever levied on a single company by the FTC over privacy issues, but it's still a financial wrist-slap for Google, which earned $2.9 billion U.S. last quarter. Under the terms of the deal, which remains subject to approval from FTC commissioners, Google would admit no wrongdoing.
Shares of online daily deal company Groupon tumbled almost 6% Wednesday to an all-time low of $7.88 U.S. Investors have worried about the company's longevity since it went public last November, shaving almost 70% off its initial stock price.
Investors were hoping central bankers would offer up some signs that another round of quantitative easing, or QE3, was on the table. But the minutes from the Fed's policymaking meeting show the central bank is wary of the risks.
Analysts say that investors are not only reacting to the fact that the central bank appears hesitant to take more action, but that the Fed also conceded that more action could be needed.
Investors also welcomed a renewed Spanish focus on fixing its debt dilemma. In a speech to parliament, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the country would cut €65 billion ($79.6 billion U.S.) in less than three years by reducing government and raising taxes. Meeting budget deficit reduction targets would require austerity and more efficiency, he said.
The speech came after European finance ministers agreed late Monday to offer the struggling country an initial €30 billion by the end of the month to help bail out its troubled banks. Yields for Spanish 10-year bonds, which have hovered around the perilous 7% level in recent weeks, fell to 6.64% Wednesday.
Economically speaking, the U.S. trade deficit stood $48.7 billion in May, coming in just slightly below expectations. It dropped from $50.1 billion the prior month.
As expected, wholesale inventories for May increased by 0.3%.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury remained static, with the yield down staying at Tuesday’s 1.50%.
Oil for August delivery marched ahead $2.10 to $86.01 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for August delivery fell $9.30 to $1,571.60 U.S. an ounce.
