Stock markets in Toronto opened lower on Wednesday, as focus shifted from Barack Obama's presidential win in the U.S. to the "fiscal cliff" that might derail the world's largest economy.
The S&P/TSX composite fell 76.95 points Wednesday at 12,284.23
The Canadian dollar moved lower 0.19 cents to 100.61 cents U.S.
Bombardier reported a 10% rise in third-quarter profit and said it would delay by about six months the first flight of its C-Series jetliner and cut about 1,200 jobs in its train manufacturing division. Bombardier stock was lower by 12 cents to $3.49
Enbridge reported a third-quarter profit as losses on financial derivatives fell and it carried more oil and natural gas on some of its pipelines. Enbridge shares dipped 17 cents to $39.92.
Agrium reported lower quarterly profit due to downtime at its potash mine and dragged-out contract talks with China and India. Agrium collapsed $7.30, or 6.9%, to $99.10
WestJet reported an 80% rise in third-quarter profit as it flew more passengers. WestJet stock got 34 cents worth of lift to $18.30.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 3.55 points to 1,299.59
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower to begin the day, with global base metals falling 2.1%, metals and mining listing lower by 1.8% and energy down 1.3%.
The lone holdout was gold, up 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks fell sharply at the open Wednesday, as investors focused on how President Obama plans to avoid the “fiscal cliff” after he won re-election Tuesday night.
The Dow Jones Industrials dumped 219.02 points, or 1.7%, to 13,026.70
The S&P 500 moved down 18.92 to 1,409.47, and the Nasdaq Composite Index falls 42.08 points at 2,969.85
Investor attention is already turning to what Tuesday's results mean for the looming fiscal cliff, the market's biggest headwind, according to market strategists and money managers polled in a recent survey.
As investors weighed Obama's win and what it means for regulation, shares of financial companies and energy producers fell sharply.
Banking giants Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs shares fell more than 3%. JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo also fell sharply.
Additionally, coal producer Alpha Natural Resources sank 9%, while Peabody Energy, James River Coal Co, CONSOL Energy and Walter Energy were also down. Oil companies Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and Halliburton also fell.
But hospital stocks HCA and Community Health Systems were big gainers, as Obama's win means the president's health care reform legislation is here to stay.
Economically speaking, on Wednesday afternoon, the Federal Reserve will release data on consumer credit for September, which is expected to have expanded by $10.6 billion U.S, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury leaped for the rafters, pushing the yield down to 1.63% from 1.74% late Tuesday.
Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were down $2.01 at $86.69 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $8.50 per ounce to $1,723.50 U.S.
