Canada's main stock index fell Wednesday as investors digested the release of a U.S. Federal Reserve policy statement at the conclusion of a two-day Fed meeting.
The S&P/TSX composite index fell 51.66 points to close Wednesday at 15,458.88
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.3 cents to 90.84 cents U.S.
Shares of energy producers gave back ground, as Suncor Energy lost 1% to $43.04 and Canadian Natural Resources shed 0.9% to $45.34.
The materials sector, which includes mining stocks, declined with commodity prices showing choppiness. Goldcorp fell 1.6% to $27.34, though Potash Corp recovered 0.4% at $39.01.
In the base metals sector, Teck Resources declined two cents to $23.66, while First Quantum Minerals ditched 22.5 cents, or nearly 1%, to $22.78.
Real-estate stocks were among the only bright spots, with Northern Property REIT up 40 cents, or 1.4%, to $28.43.
Recent Canadian economic data has been encouraging, particularly on exports, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said on Tuesday, but he pointed to a substantial amount of slack in the job market.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange doffed 3.19 points to 972.51.
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower on the day, with gold tumbling 2.1%, while energy and global base metals were each 1.1%.
The two gainers were real-estate, climbing 0.9%, and industrials, up 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
Although the economy is getting better, the U.S. Federal Reserve is probably not going to raise interest rates until the summer of 2015 at the earliest.
Thus, the Dow Jones Industrials tacked on 24.88 points to 17,156.85.
The S&P 500 added 2.59 points to 2,001.57. The NASDAQ moved forward 9.43 points to 4,562.19
Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. soared 42%, after news late Tuesday that Endo International PLC will buy it for $28.10 U.S. per share in a cash-and-stock deal. Endo was up 5%.
Lennar Corp. rose 4.8% after posting a 47% rise in third-quarter profit on Wednesday as higher prices and deliveries drove up revenue.
General Mills Inc. fell 2% after posting a disappointing quarterly profit.
DuPont shares rose 3.8% after an investor urged a breakup of the company.
FedEx Corp. rose 3.7% after posting better-than-expected profit and sales. U.S. Steel Corp. was up 10% after the company said it was making major strategic changes late Tuesday.
Adobe Systems Inc. fell 3%. The software maker posted quarterly results on Tuesday.
Rackspace Hosting Inc. tumbled 15% after the cloud-computing company said it won’t be selling itself.
The Fed said Wednesday that it continues to believe rates should remain low for a "considerable time" after its bond buying program is complete -- which should happen following its next meeting.
As expected, the Fed said it is reducing, or "tapering," its asset purchases by $10 billion a month to just $15 billion U.S. So it is widely expected to announce one final taper when it meets again in October.
In economic news, U.S. consumer prices fell in August for the first time in 16 months, largely because of a decline in the cost of filling up at the gas station. Separately, the U.S. current account deficit fell to $98.5 billion U.S. in the second quarter from a revised $102.2 billion U.S. in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
A gauge of confidence among home builders rose in September to the highest level since November 2005, according to National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo data released Wednesday.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries sagged slightly, raising yields to 2.60% from Tuesday’s 2.59%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid 82 cents to $94.06 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices went south $13.10 to $1,223.60 U.S. an ounce.
