The Toronto stock market was lower Wednesday as investors remained focused on whether the Federal Reserve could move as soon as next week on clawing back its stimulus.
The S&P/TSX composite index plummeted 129.60 points, or nearly 1%, to pause for lunch hour at 13,194.41
The Canadian dollar faded 0.05 cents to 94.27 cents U.S.
Hudson's Bay Co. reported a larger net loss in its latest quarter, mostly due to costs related to its acquisition of U.S. retailer Saks Inc. last month.
The retailer reported a net loss of $124.2 million, or $1.04 per share, compared with $14.4 million, or 14 cents per share, a year earlier. Overall retail sales rose by 5.8%. Ex-items, earnings were seven cents a share, which missed estimates by three cents and its shares fell 81 cents or 4.1% to $19.18.
Telecoms slumped with Rogers Communications down 81 cents to $47.78.
The energy sector fell while Canadian Natural Resources declined 46 cents to $34.50.
Natural gas giant Encana Corp. plans to increase its production of natural gas liquids by 30% next year, as it focuses spending in five resource areas across North America.
Encana does not expect its forecasted production levels to change from last year, even though it plans on cutting its capital investment by 10%. Last month, it announced it was slashing its workforce by 20%, cutting its dividend and spinning off a large chunk of its Alberta land holdings into a new public company. EnCana shares shed 88 cents to $19.50.
The industrials group was down as Canadian Pacific Railway lost $1.43 to $159.66.
Financials weighed as Laurentian Bank missed expectations. Restructuring costs caused its quarterly net profit to plummet 41% to $27.7 million in the fourth quarter.
Adjusting for one-time items, net income dipped three per cent to $35.2 million or $1.14 a share, lower than the $1.31 that analysts expected. Revenue of $215.5 million missed expectations of $220.5 million and Laurentian shares gave back 47 cents to $46.70.
The gold component lost ground as Barrick Gold faded 16 cents to $17.75.
March copper was up one cent at $3.28 U.S. a pound and the base metals sector gave back ground. Teck Resources lost 25 cents to $25.30.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 4.37 points to 899.62
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks tumbled Wednesday as a new U.S. budget deal raises the chances that the Federal Reserve might begin scaling back its support for the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrials shed 95.29 points to 15,877.84
The S&P 500 index dropped 14.25 points to 1,788.37. The NASDAQ retreated 39.94 points to 4,020.56
Shares of Twitter rose to an all-time high of $53.87 U.S., extending Tuesday's rally. The stock has more than doubled from its IPO price,
BlackBerry shares rose for a second day. The troubled smartphone maker has been punished this year, with shares down nearly 50%. BlackBerry is set to report quarterly results next week
Shares of MasterCard rose after the company said it would increase its quarterly dividend by 83% and announced a share buyback program. The company also announced a 10-for-one stock split effective in January.
.Smith & Wesson shares jumped a day after the gun maker reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations.
Groupon shares rose following positive reports from Wall Street analysts.
Costco shares dropped after the company reported quarterly profits that fell just short of analysts' expectations.
Bank stocks were under pressure one day after federal regulators officially approved new restrictions on risky trading by federally-insured financial institutions. Goldman Sachs fell more than 1%. Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Bank of America and JPMorgan also dipped.
Congressional negotiators reached a bipartisan budget compromise late Tuesday that would prevent another government shutdown, if approved by the House and Senate. The deal would set spending levels, reduce the deficit and relieve some of the arbitrary, forced spending cuts.
Some analysts say the deal could make the Fed more likely to announce it will begin trimming its $85-billion-U.S.-a month bond purchases as early as next week. Fed chairman Ben Bernanke has said repeatedly that uncertainty about fiscal policy is a threat to the economy.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries stepped backward, raising yields to 2.81% from Tuesday’s 2.80%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 73 cents to $97.78 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices shrank $1.80 to $1,259.30 U.S. an ounce.
