The Toronto stock market was little changed Wednesday as the expected nomination of a new Federal Reserve chief who will likely be in no rush to wrap up stimulus measures failed to distract traders from American debt worries.
The S&P/TSX composite index moved up 37.92 to finish at 12,730.33
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.24 cents to 96.19 cents U.S.
The telecom sector advanced, with BCE ahead 97 cents to $44.70.
Industrials also lent support with Canadian National Railways up 64 cents to $107.94.
The base metals group was up even as December copper fell seven cents to $3.23 U.S. a pound. First Quantum Minerals climbed 57 cents, or 3.3%, to $18.12.
The gold sector declined, though Kinross Gold picked up a penny to $4.96.
The energy sector was down with Talisman Energy falling 19 cents to $12.70.
In earnings news, the Jean Coutu Group posted quarterly net earnings of $208.2 million, or 99 cents per share, largely as a result of the sale of its stake in U.S. chain Rite Aid.
The retailer said it plans to return up to $502 million to shareholders by way of share buyback and a one-time dividend of 50 cents per share.
Excluding the one-item items, the company earned $49.9 million or 24 cents per share, about level with year-earlier earnings of $50 million or 23 cents but missing analyst estimates by a penny. Its shares fell 79 cents to $18.12.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 6.29 points to 933.07
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were up on the day, led by telecoms, up 1.1%, global base metals, ahead 1%, and real-estate, up 0.7%.
The two laggards were utilities, nosing down 0.1%, and health-care issues, fading but 0.04%. Information technology stocks were flat on the session.
ON WALLSTREET
The U.S. government is still shut down, and there's been little progress on raising the debt limit. But there was one bit of news from Washington that kept investors from dumping stocks again.
Janet Yellen's nomination as next chair of the Federal Reserve helped stabilize, if not necessarily excite, Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 ended modestly higher following two days of selling.
The Dow picked up 26.45 points to end the session at 14,803
The S&P 500 index inched up 0.95 points to 1,656.40. The NASDAQ was down 17.06 points to 3,661.80
Though the broader market was up slightly, shares of many momentum stocks sank for a second day and weighed on the NASDAQ.
Priceline and Facebook declined about 1%. Shares of Tesla, Netflix and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters were down more than 3%.
Alcoa shares rose after the aluminum producer's profits beat expectations.
Shares of Yum! Brands, meanwhile, tumbled after the operator of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut reported weak earnings and continued problems in its China division.
Costco missed on revenue and reported a slight bump in same store sales. Earnings per shares came in better than expected. The stock rose in mid-afternoon trading after opening lower.
Retailer Family Dollar beat earnings forecasts, while revenue was roughly in line with estimates. But shares fell on a relatively weak outlook.
Shares of Hewlett-Packard jumped 9% after CEO Meg Whitman said she expects revenue to stabilize in 2014 during the company's annual meeting with analysts.
Men's Wearhouse shares spiked even though the company's board rejected a $2.4-billion U.S. bid from smaller rival Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, setting the stage for another nasty battle for the men's apparel retailer.
Yellen, who was officially tapped Wednesday for the top spot by President Obama, has long been a favoured candidate for the position and shares much of current chairman Ben Bernanke's thinking on loose monetary policy.
Meanwhile, minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting showed that the central bank's decision not to scale back its bond buying program was a 'relatively close call' for several members of the Fed's policymaking committee.
U.S. stocks have been mostly falling amid continued anxiety over the debt ceiling crisis. The Dow has dropped more than 300 points since the shutdown of the federal government began on Oct. 1.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury were down, raising yields to 2.65% from Tuesday’s 2.64%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices shed $2.03 to $101.46 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices shed $19.60 to $1,305 U.S. an ounce.
