The Toronto stock market was lower Wednesday as traders hoped that the U.S. Federal Reserve will shed some light on what it intends to do about curbing some of its economic stimulus.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index faded 42.94 points, to pause for noon at 12,324.52
The Canadian dollar was positive 0.21 cents to 98.11 cents U.S.
The telecom sector was off with Telus Corp. down 55 cents to $34.89.
The tech component fell with BlackBerry down 54 cents to $14.59. The stock had risen about 3% Tuesday after RBC Dominion Securities boosted its outlook for the company, predicting a profit this fiscal year instead of a loss thanks to stronger-than-expected shipments of its new BlackBerry 10 devices.
But the stock slid Wednesday after Bernstein Research lowered its rating to underperform from market perform. One analyst said his own channel checks at carriers show that consumer appetite for the new BlackBerry 10 smartphones is weakening, and he thinks the company will miss analyst expectations for the second half of this year.
The energy sector dipped as Statoil says it is evaluating a new discovery of high-quality oil about 500 kilometres northeast of St. John's, N.L. The Harpoon discovery is about 10 kilometres from the Mizzen discovery, which is estimated to hold between 100 million and 200 million barrels of oil.
Statoil has a 65% interest in the Harpoon discovery and the remaining 35 per cent is owned by Calgary-based Husky Energy. Husky shares were ahead six cents to $28.39.
Commodity prices were mixed with the July copper was three cents lower to $3.13 U.S. a pound. The base metals group was down and HudBay Minerals fell 14 cents to $7.60.
The consumer staples sector was up with convenience store chain Alimentation Couche-Tard up 47 cents to $62.75. The stock has soared more than 8% over the past week on speculation the company could buy the retail operations of oil and gas giant Hess, which owns about 1,350 gasoline stations in 16 East Coast American states.
Couche-Tard recently said it has the capacity to spend $1.5 billion on acquisitions. Hess announced in May that it will exit its retail, energy marketing and energy trading businesses following pressure from its third-largest shareholder -- activist investor Elliott Management -- to break up the firm.
The gold sector rose slightly while Barrick Gold Corp. gained 20 cents to $19.44.
Elsewhere on the corporate front, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. has priced its previously announced public offering of shares aimed at helping finance the $8.7-billion U.S. acquisition of eye care company Bausch + Lomb.
Valeant will issue slightly more than 23.5 million common shares at a price of $85 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of some $2 billion. Valeant shares rose 22 cents to $87.96.
Cenovus Energy Inc. said Tuesday that it plans to massively increase the amount of oil it ships by rail by the end of 2014 as the fates of contentious pipeline projects remain undecided. It expects to move 30,000 barrels per day by rail by the end of 2014 -- triple the 10,000 it's anticipating by the end of 2013. Its shares lost 14 cents to $30.36.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported this morning that wholesale trade came in for April at $49.0 billion, up 0.2% from the previous month, mainly as a result of higher sales in the computer and communications equipment and supplies industry
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 5.76 points to 924.23
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower by midday, as utilities and information technology stocks each slid 1.1%, and metals and mining stocks dipped 0.8%.
The three gainers were health-care, up 0.4%, while industrial and consumer staple stocks took on 0.2% each.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke takes the mike Wednesday and investors are hoping he'll provide some clarity on when the central bank could begin tapering the pace of its bond purchases.
The Dow Jones Industrials hesitated 27.88 points to 15,290.30
The S&P 500 index doffed 2.82 points to 1,648.99. The tech-rich NASDAQ Composite faded 6.39 points to 3,475.79
The Fed's bond-buying program has been a boon to equity markets, supporting U.S. and global stock indexes and driving them to recent record highs.
Any comments from Bernanke suggesting that the program's end is near would likely lead to significant declines.
The Fed will release a statement at the conclusion of its latest monetary policy meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET. Bernanke is scheduled to speak at 2:30 p.m. ET.
In corporate news, shares of Tesla Motor dipped after the automaker announced a recall of some of its Model S cars for a non-mechanical defect.
FedEx shares edged higher after the shipping giant reported quarterly earnings blew past forecasts, though revenue was roughly in line with estimates. The company is often seen as a bellwether for the global economy given the nature of its delivery business and its international footprint.
Adobe shares jumped after the software company reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations.
Dish Networks dropped its pursuit of Sprint, clearing the way for Japan's SoftBank to continue with its offer. Dish said it would instead focus on its tender offer for Clearwire
Shares of Men's Wearhouse slid after the clothing retailer "terminated" executive chairman George Zimmer.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury sagged, raising yields to 2.21% from Tuesday’s 2.18%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 13 cents to $98.31 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices remained positive $6.20 to $1,373.10 U.S. an ounce
