The Toronto stock market was virtually unchanged at noon hour ET Wednesday, amid worries that the U.S. will end up leading a military strike against Syria, which it accuses of using poison gas against its civilian population.
The S&P/TSX composite index greeted noon up 4.55 points to 12,745.05, after spending much of the morning in negative country.
The Canadian dollar added 0.48 cents at 95.40 cents U.S.
In the gold sector, Goldcorp Inc. was 45 cents lower to $30.97.
The metals and mining sector lost ground as December copper fell seven cents to $3.23 U.S., giving back Tuesday's gain that followed strong manufacturing data from China and the U.S. First Quantum Minerals declined 25 cents to $17.60.
The telecom sector gave back some of the 4% surge registered Tuesday after U.S. telecom giant Verizon agreed to buy out the remaining stake in its mobile phone business from Vodafone in a massive $130-billion U.S. deal. At the same time, Verizon made it clear it wasn't interested in entering the Canadian wireless market.
On the corporate front, Fiera Capital Corp. has announced two deals worth a combined $156.3 million U.S. under which it is acquiring a prominent U.S. wealth management firm and a global asset manager.
Fiera says the deals for Los Angeles-based Bel Air Investment Advisors LLC and an affiliate as well as New York-based Wilkinson O'Grady & Co. Inc. are part of its strategy of expanding into U.S. markets. Fiera shares eased 14 cents to $11.15.
In the economic docket today, Statistics Canada reported that merchandise imports grew by 0.6% in July, while exports were off 0.6%, meaning our trade deficit with the rest of the world widened to $931 million in July from $460 million in June.
What’s more, the Bank of Canada is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 6.04 points to break for lunch Wednesday at 947.62
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups had turned positive midday, led by consumer staples, up 0.7%, while utilities and consumer discretionaries each gained 0.5%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed by gold, down 1.8%, materials, off 1.1%, and telecoms, sliding 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks advanced Wednesday, even as investors considered the increasing likelihood that the U.S. will lead a military strike against Syria.
The Dow Jones Industrials bolted 117.11 points at 14,951.10
The S&P 500 index picked up 14.30 points to 1,654.07. The NASDAQ improved 35.49 points to 3,648.10
Shares of LinkedIn fell more than 2% after the job search website announced plans to sell $1 billion U.S. worth of stock in a secondary offering.
Shares of JCPenney rose sharply after two hedge funds – Hayman Capital and Glenview Capital-- announced new stakes in the struggling retailer.
H&R Bloc shares fell after missing analyst expectations.
Shares of Dollar General rose after the retailer wowed Wall Street with its second-quarter results.
U.S. President Obama is seeking approval from Congress to carry out a military strike after saying U.S. intelligence showed that Syria used chemical weapons which killed more than 1,400 people.
Several key Democrats and Republicans have thrown their support behind Obama's plan in recent days, though a number of hurdles must still be overcome before the U.S. can take military action.
On the economic front, August auto sales will be reported throughout the day. At 2 p.m. ET, the Federal Reserve will release its Beige Book, a report summarizing economic conditions in the country.
Earlier in the day, the Commerce Department said the trade deficit widened by 13% in July to $39.1 billion U.S. from an almost four-year low as exports slowed.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury sagged somewhat, raising yields to 2.87% from Tuesday’s 2.85%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 74 cents to $107.80 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid $22 to $1,390.10 U.S. an ounce.
