The Toronto stock market was modestly lower Wednesday as a dearth of economic and corporate news left traders free to focus on two major events next week
The S&P/TSX composite index slipped 85.68 points to greet noon at 15,451.13
The Canadian dollar regained 0.21 cents to 91.26 cents U.S.
On the corporate front, Bank of Montreal has again lowered its five-year fixed mortgage rate to 2.99%, from 3.29%, the lowest rate currently offered by Canada's big banks. Its shares were ahead 30 cents to $84.54.
Grocer Empire Co. will release its quarterly earnings report Wednesday.
The TSX was weighed down by a slide in the gold sector as December bullion gained ground.
The base metals sector was also a drag, while December copper was up a cent to $3.11 U.S. a pound.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 4.08 points to 984.61.
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower, as gold docked 2.5%, metals and mining fell 1.5%, and materials were weaker by 1.4%.
Information technology proved the sole gainer, up 0.2%, while health-care issues were flat at noon hour.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks recovered by noon ET Wednesday as investors reassessed the timing and pace of interest-rate hikes from the Federal Reserve amid rising Treasury yields.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 21.47 points to 17,035.34
The S&P 500 inches up 3.01 points to 1,991.45. The NASDAQ hiked 18.26 points to 4,570.55
Analysts at Pacific Crest cut Apple to sector perform, citing a lack of new “profit drivers” to maintain an outperform rating after the iPhone maker unveiled the latest version of its popular phone and a new Apple Watch wearable device on Tuesday. Shares rose 1%.
GT Advanced Technologies Inc. shares slid 11% after Apple said it won’t move toward broad use of sapphire cover screens, which GT provides.
Shares of Microsoft could grab investors’ attention on a report in The Wall Street Journal that the technology group is set to pay about $2 billion U.S. in a deal to buy the maker of the popular "Minecraft" video game.
Land’s End Inc. shares rallied 12% after the clothing retailer posted better-than-expected sales and profit in its fiscal second quarter.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts skidded 4.6% after the doughnut chain posted stronger sales, but adjusted profit missed forecasts.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries lagged, raising yields to 2.53% from Tuesday’s 2.50%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices down $1.19 to $91.56 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained 50 cents to $1,249.00 U.S. an ounce.
