The Toronto stock market had a flat open Wednesday after a sharp loss in the previous session.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 6.95 points to open Wednesday at 12,216.62
The Canadian dollar inched forward 0.01 cents to 98.16 cents U.S.
The TSX is down around 200 points year to date and has finished lower in seven of the past eight sessions.
In corporate news, Hudson’s Bay Co. lost $80.7 million in the latest quarter including discontinued operations, down from $129.7 million in the first quarter of 2012.
Revenue rose by 4.2% to $884 million. Hudson;s Bay stores in Canada had a 7.6% same-store sales growth, offset by a 1.4% decline at Lord & Taylor stores in the United States.
Bay shares climbed 59 cents, or 3.7%, to $16.75.
Information technology shares prospered soon after the opening bell, with MacDonald Dettwiler leading the group, gaining 75 cents, or 1.1%, to $66.95.
Telecom stocks took a hit, however, as Bell Aliant shares docked 76 cents, or 2.7%, to $27.54.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 1.59 points to at 935.68
Seven of the 14 Toronto subgroups were down to begin the session, with telecoms off 1%, real-estate and health-care issues down 0.3% each.
The gainers – which amounted to half a dozen – were led by information technology, global base metals and gold issues, each up 0.4%.
Industrials were unchanged in the first hour of trading.
ON WALLSTREET
After two days in the red, U.S. stocks opened higher Wednesday, although continuing unease about when central banks will begin weaning investors off cheap money could make for another volatile session.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 25.26 points Wednesday to 15,147.30
The S&P 500 index took on 7.16 points to 1,633.29. The tech-rich NASDAQ Composite dropped 1.58 points to 3,435.37
On the corporate front, shares of Cooper Tire & Rubber surged after India's Apollo Tyres said it would buy the American tire maker for $2.5 billion U.S. Shares of rival Goodyear Tire & Rubber also rose.
First Solar shares sank after the renewable energy firm announced plans late Tuesday for a new stock offering.
H & R Block and Men's Wearhouse are scheduled to release quarterly results after the close.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, raising yields to 2.22% from Tuesday’s 2.20%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were up 64 cents to $96.02 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices picked up 70 cents to $1,377.70 U.S. an ounce
