Equities in Toronto slipped on Wednesday, pushed lower by a sharp fall in energy stocks on cheaper oil and losses for miners as gold and copper prices also declined.
The S&P/TSX composite index hurtled lower 101.14 points to greet noon at 13,534.92, after a leap Tuesday of more than 160 points.
The Canadian dollar eked higher 0.04 cents to 74.89 cents U.S.
Energy stocks ran out of steam, notably Suncor Energy Inc, which fell 1.2% to $37.35, and Canadian Natural Resources, which declined 1.6% to $31.82.
Barrick Gold fell 2.2% to $9.94 and Goldcorp declined 1.7% to $15.94.
Copper prices declined 0.7% to $4,598.5 U.S. a tonne.
Shares of Royal Bank of Canada, the country's biggest lender, gained 0.3% to $77.10 after it reported an 11% rise in fourth-quarter profit. It became the first Canadian company to record $10 billion in annual profit.
National Bank of Canada rose 0.8% to $44.47 on higher profit and an increased dividend.
The Bank of Canada announced this morning it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 0.5%. The central bank rate is correspondingly 0.75% and the deposit rate is 0.25%
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 4.53 points at noon 518.54.
All but one of the 13 TSX subgroups were lower, as energy plummeted 3.2%, gold lost 2.7%, and materials dipped 1.9%.
Only financials held out against the negative tide, squeaking up 0.01%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded in a range Wednesday after a solid day of gains as investors surveyed data and awaited a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen that could shed more light on the timing of a rate hike.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell back 34.8 points to reach noon hour at 17,853.55, Chevron, Goldman Sachs and Exxon Mobil were the greatest weights on the Dow.
The S&P 500 slumped 8.13 points to 2,094.5, with energy leading eight sectors lower and information technology and health care the only advancers.
The NASDAQ index remained negative 2.94 points to 5,159.25, as shares of Apple and Qualcomm rose.
Qualcomm traded about 7% higher news the chipmaker entered a 3G/4G licensing agreement with Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi.
Amazon, Netflix and shares of Alphabet hit all-time intraday highs in morning trade Wednesday.
In other corporate news, Yahoo traded more than 5% higher after the Wall Street Journal reported the company's board will discuss selling the flagship internet business, how to maximize the value of its stake in Alibaba, and consider the future of CEO Marissa Mayer at meetings this week.
An SEC filing showed billionaire investor David Tepper's Appaloosa Management has taken a 9.25% stake in TerraForm Power, and is considering potential claims over its relationship with parentSunEdison.
Yellen is scheduled to speak at the Economic Club of Washington at 12:25 p.m. ET and then testifies Thursday morning before the Congressional Joint Economic Committee.
The Federal Open Market Committee meets Dec. 15 to 16 and could raise short-term interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade.
The Fed's beige book on the economy is due at 2 p.m.
Ahead of Friday's November jobs report, ADP data showed November private payrolls topped expectations at 217,000.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury dipped, raising yields to 2.19% from Tuesday’s 2.15%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slipped $1.31 a barrel to $40.54 U.S.
Gold prices slid $14.33 to $1,057.18 U.S. an ounce.
