With little on the economic calendar, the focus will continue to stay on any developments regarding Syria, as North American markets poised for a flat open Wednesday.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended Tuesday down 30.16 points to 12,824.48
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.12 cents to 96.75 cents U.S. early Wednesday
In corporate news, dollar store chain Dollarama Inc. says the addition of more than 90 stores over the past year helped boost its second-quarter sales to $511.3 million, a 16% increase over the same time last year.
The Montreal-based retail company's net income was $59.8 million or 82 cents per diluted share, up about 24% from a year earlier. Its comparable-store sales also increased by 6.2%.
The financial markets have settled down after U.S. President Barack Obama said late Tuesday that his country will back down from a military strike on Syria, after the Middle East country agreed to a Russian proposal to hand over its chemical weapons stockpile.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 9.09 points Tuesday to 942.85
ON WALLSTREET
The major U.S. indexes have rallied by roughly 3% over the past five trading days, so it's not surprising investors are taking a breather.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials poked ahead two points to 15,175. Futures for the S&P 500 demurred 1.3 points, or 0.1%, at 1,681.10, and futures for the NASDAQ faded 12.75 points, or 0.4%, at 3,170
Apple shares fell more than 4% before the bell, a day after the company unveiled two new iPhones that met with lukewarm reception.
Separately, Apple got the OK to run iPhones on China Mobile's exclusive network, in the latest sign that a deal between the two firms may be in the works.
Investors will also be keeping tabs on Verizon. The telecom giant is expected to announce a record $49-billion U.S. bond sale to help fund its Verizon Wireless purchase from Vodafone, according to news reports.
Traders have pushed markets higher as worries about the possibility of U.S.-led military strikes on Syria faded. It now looks like a diplomatic resolution may be possible after the Syrian government said it would be willing to turn over its chemical weapons.
European markets were muddled in morning trading, with some indexes edging up while others shifted lower. Asian markets closed with relatively flat results.
Oil prices dipped 24 cents to $107.15 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices fell $3.80 to $1,360.20 U.S. an ounce.
