North American markets were mostly negative but trading in a narrow range early afternoon Wednesday following the release of minutes from the latest meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The S&P/TSX composite index faded 48.19 points to close Wednesday at 15,072.83
The Canadian dollar added 0.22 cents to 81.97 cents U.S.
Taking most of the lumps were mining stocks, most notably Imperial Metals, which fell 97 cents, or 8.1%, to $11.03, and Capstone Mining, slipping eight cents, or 4.3%, to $1.35.
Industrials also fared badly, with Air Canada grounded 45 cents, or 3.5%, to $12.44, and Bombardier dipped six cents, or 2.3%, to close at $2.56.
Evening things out were energy stocks, led by Pacific Rubiales, up 37 cents, or 6.4%, to $6.19, while Painted Pony Petroleum galloped 43 cents, or 5.9%, to $7.75.
Gold stocks also finished in the green, with B2Gold climbing 13 cents, or 6.4%, to $2.17, and Lake Shore Gold moving higher four cents, or 3.3%, to $1.27.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada said wholesale sales rose 0.8% to $53.9 billion in March after two consecutive monthly declines. Higher sales were recorded in five of seven sub-sectors, accounting for 66% of total wholesale sales.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 0.43 points to 695.42
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups lost ground by the closing bell, as global base metals took a 7.4% pounding, while metals and mining lost 1%, and industrials settled back 0.8%.
The four gainers were led by energy, 0.9% more energetic, gold, up 0.5%, and telecoms, ahead 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed narrowly mixed on Wednesday, failing to hold record levels, as the Fed minutes mostly confirmed market expectations for a rate hike in the second half of the year.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell from Tuesday’s all-time record by 26.99 points to 18,285.40, with DuPont leading decliners and General Electric leading advancers.
The S&P 500 index dropped 0.72 points to 2,127.11.
The NASDAQ moved higher 4.27 points to 5,074.31
Major earnings before market open included Lowe's, Hormel Foods, Staples, Target. After the bell, L Brands, NetApp, Salesforce.com, Williams-Sonoma, American Eagle Outfitters are all due to report.
Lowe's closed down 4.6% after the home improvement retailer missed estimates by four cents with quarterly profit of 70 cents U.S. per share. Revenue missed forecasts, and same-store sales rose less than expected. JPMorgan Chase analyst Chris Horvers told CNBC that rival Home Depot has an advantage over Lowe's in both execution and store location.
Hormel Foods closed up 4.2% after the firm reported quarterly profit of 67 cents U.S. per share, five cents above estimates, although revenue was shy of forecasts. Hormel did say that its Jennie-O turkey business could be "significantly challenged" due to the impact of the bird flu outbreak in the U.S. However, the company did reaffirm its full-year earnings forecast
Staples closed down about 1.6% after matching estimates with adjusted quarterly profit of 17 cents U.S. per share, but revenue fell short and sales fell more than anticipated. Staples is in the process of merging with rival Office Depot, just two years after acquiring OfficeMax.
Target gained 0.3% after the retailer reported earnings of $1.10 U.S. a share, beating estimates of $1.03 U.S. a share, and raised the low end of its forecast range for the year. Same-store sales rose 2.3%, matching expectations from Consensus Metrix, Reuters said.
Yahoo closed up 4.4%. The stock came under pressure late Tuesday on concern that possible U.S. tax law changes could affect the company's planned spinoff of its Alibaba stake. However, Yahoo issued a statement saying it understands that the latest IRS statement on the matter is not specific to the planned move.
Authorities on Wednesday fined JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Barclay's, RBS and UBS a total of more than $5.5 billion U.S. for rigging rates, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday.
The Fed minutes showed policymakers mostly brushed aside the wobbly start the U.S. economy has had in 2015, attributing the lack of growth to "transitory" factors that will abate soon. Only a few policymakers supported a June rate hike.
Investors are also looking ahead to a Friday speech from Fed Chief Janet Yellen for possible new clues on when the central bank may start raising interest rates.
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said in Munich on Wednesday that a rate hike is not likely to be appropriate until early 2016, Reuters reported.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained, lowering yields to 2.26% from Tuesday’s 2.29%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices added 82 cents a barrel to $58.81 U.S.
Gold prices took on $3.50 to $1,210.20 U.S. an ounce.
