Sliding mining stocks helped push the Toronto stock market lower Wednesday as traders digested the release of information that could provide an idea of what the U.S. Federal Reserve plans to do about winding up a key economic stimulus program.
The S&P/TSX composite index dumped 97.24 points, off its lows of the day, to close at 12,572.87
The Canadian dollar shed another 0.76 cents to 95.45 cents U.S.
The gold sector declined, as Barrick Gold Corp. faded 44 cents to $20.16.
The base metals sector fell and September copper slipped two cents to $3.31 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources lost $1.25, or 4.5%, to $26.30.
Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. is reported to be conditionally in favour of accepting a Chinese coal company's offer for its majority stake in Inova Resources Ltd., an Australian mining company listed in Toronto and Sydney.
Inova says Shanxi Donghui Coal Coking & Chemicals Group Co., Ltd. is offering 22 Australian cents per Inova share and Vancouver-based Turquoise Hill has agreed to tender it shares, unless a better offer comes forward.
Turquoise Hill sank three cents to $5.27. Inova resumed trading today, after several days, picking up eight cents to close at 24 cents.
The energy sector was slightly lower while Canadian Oil Sands fell 57 cents to $20.12.
Investors also considered earnings reports from the Canadian and U.S. retail sectors.
Sears Canada posted net income of $152.8 million or $1.50 per share, including an after-tax gain of $164.0 million. Ex-items, Sears lost 11 cents per share. Second-quarter revenue was down 9.6% from the same time last year. Its shares slipped 22 cents to $12.05.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 7.40 points to 925.20
All 14 Toronto subgroups were lower, weighed mostly by the metals and mining group, down 3.5%, while materials and gold shed 2.3% each.
ON WALLSTREET
Investors had hoped the minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest meeting would answer questions about when the central bank would start to pull back on its bond purchases. They didn't.
The Dow Jones Industrials faded 105.44 points to finish at 14,897.50
The S&P 500 index backtracked 8.80 points to 1,643.55. The NASDAQ subtracted 13.80 points to 3,599.79
Looking at individual stocks on the move, Lowe's announced that its quarterly sales and profit rose from a year earlier. The strong results from the home improvement retailer come a day after rival Home Depot also issued an upbeat outlook thanks to the continued recovery in the housing market.
In another positive sign for housing, existing home sales rose 6.5% in July from the prior month.
Target shares fell even after the retailer announced significant year-over-year gains in sales. Traders seemed worried about slowing sales growth and a more tepid outlook for consumer spending.
Shares of Staples dropped more than 10% after the office supply retailer reported lower quarterly sales and profit compared to the prior year. The CEO blamed the declines on weakness in retail stores and said the company was working to ramp up its online sales.
Two other niche retailers, teen apparel seller American Eagle Outfitters and pet supply retailer PetSmart also disappointed investors. But some thought the sell-off in PetSmart may be overdone.
Hewlett-Packard will report after the closing bell. The PC and printer giant is this year's best performer in the Dow as investors have embraced the turnaround strategy of CEO Meg Whitman.
The Fed essentially said that it is still looking for continued improvement in the job market, and hinted it may not yet ready to taper its bond-buying program.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, hiking yields to 2.86% from Tuesday’s 2.81%. Treasury price and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices stepped back $1.12 to $103.99 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices remained negative $1.50 to $1,371.10 U.S. an ounce.
