The Toronto stock market sold off late morning Wednesday as worries about the pace of global growth raised concerns about demand for commodities and sent prices for energy and metals lower.
The S&P/TSX index dipped 160.93 points, or 1.3%, to greet noon at 11,958.99
The Canadian dollar ducked back 0.44 cents at 97.47 cents U.S.
The base metals component declined as copper, viewed as an economic bellwether, slid 12 cents to $3.19 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources fell $1.24 to $25.51 while First Quantum Minerals declined $1.59 to $15.44.
Further prospects for a sluggish recovery oil prices lower as Suncor Energy shed 58 cents to $27.83 and Cenovus Energy was down 71 cents at $28.73.
Financials also weighed as Scotiabank gave back 71 cents to $56.99.
The gold sector was down as Goldcorp Inc. advanced 33 cents to $28.66 while Iamgold faded six cents to C$5.
On the economic front, the Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1%. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1 ¼% and the deposit rate is 3/4 of 1%.
The central bank also cut its 2013 economic growth forecast to 1.5% from an earlier estimate of 2%
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell back 25.82 points to 934.18
All 14 Toronto subgroups faded by noon, weighed mostly by metals and mining stocks, down 6.4%, global base metals, sliding 4.2%, and energy, trailing Tuesday’s close by 2.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks continued to slide on Wednesday, as investors pulled back after several companies reported disappointing earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrials Average lost 148.59 points, or 1%, to pause for lunch at 14,608.20
The S&P 500 index subsided 23.82 points to 1,550.75. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite retreated 68 points to 3,196.63.
Bank of America was the biggest drag on the Dow, after it missed first-quarter earnings estimates, despite an uptick in revenue. Higher investment banking revenue was offset by lower mortgage banking income.
Shares of Yahoo lost ground, one day after the company reported lousy first-quarter sales and issued a downbeat outlook.
Intel shares also edged lower after the chipmaker posted earnings and sales in line with expectations. The company reported another decline in chip sales for PCs, however, with revenue from that business falling 6% compared to a year earlier.
Riding the tech downturn, shares of Apple hit a new 52-week low early Wednesday. The stock has been plagued by worries about slowing iPhone demand.
Shares of toymaker Mattel shot up Wednesday after it reported that its first-quarter net profit more than quadrupled.
Fairway Group Holdings, the parent of Fairway Market, priced an initial public offering at $13 U.S. a share -- above its estimated range.
The company started trading Wednesday under the ticker FWM and rose nearly 30% from its offering price.
American Express and eBay are due to report results after the close.
On the economic front, in economic news, the Federal Reserve will release the April edition of its Beige Book, a survey of regional economies, at 2 p.m. ET.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.69% from Tuesday’s 1.72%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slipped $1.51 to $87.21 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $4.20 to $1,391.60 U.S. an ounce
