North American markets were mixed Wednesday as U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke told lawmakers that it's too soon for the Fed to end its extraordinary stimulus programs.
Indexes in Toronto and the U.S. initially surged on news that the Fed has no plans to turn the taps off on its $85-billion-a-month bond buyback program, but fell back by mid-afternoon
The S&P/TSX composite index gained but 10.07 points to finish the day at 12,752.50
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.91 cents to 96.46 cents U.S.
On the commodities front, July copper climbed four cents to $3.38 U.S. a pound and the metals and mining sector advanced, powered mostly by Taseko Mines, which climbed 4.2% to $2.26, and Lundin Mining, which jumped 3.4% to $4.52.
Gold stocks were again the champion, though, with Detour Gold hiking 6.2% to $9.80, and Kirkland Lake Gold jumping 13.7% to $4.24.
In corporate news, shares in Sears Canada Inc. jumped 1%, or nine cents, to $9.44 after the national retailer reported a $31.2-million loss as well as lower revenue in its latest quarter.
The loss amounted to 31 cents per share and contrasted with a year-earlier profit of $93.1 million or 91 cents per share, when its bottom line was boosted by an unusual gain.
Sears says same-store sales fell by 2.6% while total revenue fell to $867.1 million U.S. from $928.0 million U.S. a year earlier.
On the downside, though, health-care issues tailed off, as Extendicare shares fell 2.7% to $7.11. Also faltering with tech stocks, as Open Text Corp. dipped 2.5% to $70.39, and BlackBerry Corporation docked 1% to $15.01.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported this morning that retail sales came in at $39.5 billion in March, roughly the same as the month before. After removing the effects of price changes, particularly lower gasoline prices, retail sales in volume terms rose 0.7%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange hung onto gains of 2.67 points to 942.08
Of the 14 Toronto subgroups, eight had faded into the red by the closing bell, weighed mostly by health-care and information technology stocks, each off 1.4%, while real-estate issues faded 0.7%.
The half-dozen gainers were spearheaded by gold, up 2.1%, metals and mining, ahead 2%, and materials, gaining 1.6%
ON WALLSTREET
After touching new all-time highs earlier Wednesday, the Dow and S&P 500 ended firmly in the red as investors wrestled with mixed messages from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrials gave back 80.41 points to end the day at 15,307.20
The S&P 500 index ditched 13.81 points to 1,655.35. The tech-rich NASDAQ Composite shed 38.82 points to 3,463.30
All three indexes had rallied earlier as investors welcomed comments from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, who told lawmakers that withdrawing monetary stimulus prematurely could derail the economic recovery.
But the momentum faded after the Fed released minutes from its latest policy meeting.
According to the minutes, some members of the monetary policy committee were willing to dial down the Fed's bond-buying program as soon as June if the economic recovery becomes sustainable.
While a few members were concerned about investors' expectations for the overall size of the program, the committee voted to continue buying $85 billion worth of long-term Treasuries and other assets every month.
Shares of Target fell after the retail chain reported a worse-than-expected decline in earnings.
Staples reported a decline in quarterly sales because of store closings. The office supplier also reported a drop in profit. But shares were higher.
Shares of Saks rallied 13% following a strong sales report and a New York Post story saying the luxury retailer may be looking for a buyer.
Carnival dropped one day after the cruise ship operator took a beating following its dour sales outlook for the year.
Shares of GE edged slightly higher after CEO Jeffrey Immelt said that the company would consider spinning off certain noncore assets within its financing arm GE Capital
After the market closed, Hewlett-Packard said earnings and sales fell in the company's fiscal second quarter. Despite the declines, HP's profits were better than expected. Shares surged after hours on the news.
Economically speaking, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales edged up 0.6% in April, matching economists' expectations.
Lowe's reported an increase in quarterly sales and profit, but the home improvement retailer missed estimates. Still, the stock was up on the news.
The results came one day after rival home improvement retailer Home Depot reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results.
Meanwhile, Toll Brothers reported strong results thanks to accelerating demand for houses and higher home prices.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury slumped, raising yields to 2.03% from Tuesday’s 1.94%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped $2.04 to $94.14 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $12.20 at $1,365.40 U.S. an ounce
