The Toronto stock market was lower early afternoon Wednesday as traders wondered if an impressive rally has run out of steam despite a strong reading on U.S. retail sales.
The S&P TSX index lost 96.36 points Wednesday afternoon to 12,782,22
The Canadian dollar was down 0.15 cents at 97.32 cents U.S.
In the telecom sector, BCE Inc. lost 68 cents to $46.75.
In the gold sector, Goldcorp Inc. fell 56 cents to $33.40.
Among energy plays, Cenovus Energy lost 30 cents to $32.77.
The base metals sector was down with May copper a cent lower at $3.54 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources declined 61 cents to $31.
In corporate news, Air Canada was ahead eight cents to $2.65 after the federal government said Tuesday that it would give Air Canada more time to eliminate the $4.2 billion deficit in its pension plan. But it imposed strict rules on the airline that limit executive pay and prevent it from paying dividends.
Printing and publishing company Transcontinental Inc. turned around a loss from a year ago to post quarterly net earnings of $17.8 million or 23 cents a share. Adjusted earnings were $28.5 million or 37 cents per share, a penny short of estimates.
Revenue for the quarter was also less than analysts expected at $528.7 million, although it was up 8.4% from a year earlier. Meanwhile, Transcontinental says it will pay a special dividend of $1 per share in the second quarter and its shares added 31 cents to $12.77.
Construction company Aecon Group Inc. stock was up 58 cents to $12.02 after it said it would raise its dividend to eight cents from seven cents effective April 1.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange deducted 4.51 points to 1,114.64
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower, weighed mostly by gold, off 1.7%, materials, down 1.5%, and telecoms, down 1.3%.
Only consumer discretionaries held out against the tide, eking ahead 0.08%
ON WALLSTREET
Investors took a break from the recent rally Wednesday, despite a better-than-expected retail sales report.
The Dow Jones Industrials moved higher by 6.31 points from Tuesday’s all-time high, to 14,456.40.
The S&P 500 index regained 2.24 points to 1,554.72. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite moved up 2.68 points to 3,245.
Trading has been choppy this week after the Dow's winning streak pushed the blue chip index to new record highs for seven days in a row. The S&P 500 is less than 1% away from its all-time high, reached in October 2007.
Another look at consumer spending will come after the bell, when a variety of clothing retailers, including Coldwater Creek, Guess? and Men's Wearhouse report quarterly results.
At the same time, industrial production in Europe fell faster than expected in January. In the U.K., industrial production dropped 1.2%, leading to increasing chatter of a triple dip recession there.
Shares of smart grid company Silver Spring Networks rallied 30% in their stock market debut. Silver Spring raised $63 million through an initial public offering that priced late Tuesday.
Apple shares rose Wednesday, after a recent slide. Investors have been worried about slowing demand for the iPhone 5 and what Apple plans to do with its cash.
Shares of Boeing edged slightly higher. The Federal Aviation Administration gave the aircraft maker permission late Tuesday to start testing its proposed fix to the lithium batteries on the 787 Dreamliner, a key step in getting the aircraft that has been grounded by a safety probe since Jan. 16 back into service.
Economically speaking, the U.S. Commerce Department early Wednesday reported February retail sales rose 1.1%, the best month since September.
Sales were expected to rise only 0.5%, as economists worried that increased payroll tax, delayed tax refunds and higher gas prices would cause consumers to pull back on spending.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury sagged, raising yields to 2.05% from Tuesday’s 2.02%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices docked 11 cents to $92.43 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid $5.70 to $1,586 U.S. an ounce.
