North American stock markets were mostly down Wednesday with little on the economic calendar as the focus continued to stay on any unfolding developments regarding Syria.
The S&P/TSX composite index greeted noon down 31.36 points to 12,793.12, off its lows of the morning
The Canadian dollar was up 0.12 cents to 96.76 cents U.S.
The October crude contract fell, and energy companies such as Imperial Oil gave back six cents to $44.51, while Suncor added seven cents to $36.49.
December bullion fell,and gold plays like Barrick Gold doffed seven cents to $18.89, while December copper got ahead a penny to $3.27 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources shares dipped 51 cents to $29.00
In corporate news, discount retailer Dollarama beat analyst expectations as its second-quarter profit surged 20 per cent to $59.8 million despite slightly lower margins caused by its expansion.
The Montreal-based retailer, which has more than 800 stores focused on items sold for between $1 and $3 each, earned 82 cents per share for the period ended Aug. 4, up from 66 cents per diluted share a year ago. Sales increased 16 per cent to $511.3 million.
Estimates compiled by Thomson Reuters called for $503.7 million of revenue and 79 cents per share of net income, or 78 cents per share on an adjusted basis. Its shares jumped more than seven per cent to $79.58.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 1.83 points to 941.02
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower, weighed mostly by materials, down 1.2%, metals and mining, trailing Tuesday’s close by 1.1%. and gold, off 0.7%.
The two gainers were consumer discretionaries, up 0.4%, and financials, eking ahead 0.2%. Real-estate stocks were flat at noon hour.
ON WALLSTREET
After rallying more than 3% over the past five trading days, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 grew, while the NASDAQ fell modestly.
The Dow gained 91.13 points midday to 15,282.20. The S&P inched ahead 1.89 points to 1,685.88. The NASDAQ fell 7.75 points to 3,721.27
In what will likely be the biggest bond offering ever, the telecom giant is expected to announce a $49-billion U.S. bond sale to help fund its purchase of the remaining stake in Verizon Wireless from U.K. telecom Vodafone
The Verizon bond sale is the latest sign that major corporations are anxiously anticipating a rise in long-term interest rates and are rushing to sell debt before a potential pullback on bond buying by the Federal Reserve. The Fed will meet next week and could discuss plans to taper the bank's bond buying program.
Apple shares fell more than 5%, a day after the company unveiled two new iPhones that were met with a lukewarm reception from analysts. Separately, Apple got the OK to run iPhones on China Mobile's exclusive network, in the latest sign that a deal between Apple and China Mobile may be in the works.
Shares of Netflix, which have been rallying lately, briefly hit a new all-time high before pulling back.
Nike's stock also hit an all-time high, one day after gaining admission to the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
News Corp shares rallied after investment firm Southeastern Asset Management disclosed it had a 12% stake in the media company.
Starbucks shares hit an all time high as well.
Facebook rallied more than 2% and is once again nearing its all-time high of $45 U.S.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury dropped, raising yields back to Tuesday’s 2.96%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices picked up 52 cents to $107.91 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices declined $1.80 at $1,362.20 U.S. an ounce.
