Equities in Canada’s largest centre fell on Wednesday as a dip in commodity prices and long-dated bond yields weighed on resource and financials stocks, offsetting gains for the consumer staples group.
The S&P/TSX Composite struggled back from deep in negative country to within 22.88 points of breakeven – off its lows of the day – to close at 14,733.22, after Tuesday’s triple-digit rise.
The index has rallied 13% this year, but has been in a holding pattern since posting a 16-month high at 14,963.60 in October.
The Canadian dollar was unchanged at 74.36 cents U.S.
Gold stocks proved the biggest loser on the day, as Iamgold Corporation fumbled 16 cents, or 3%, to $5.15, though Barrick Gold found its way into the green six cents to $20.98.
Energy stocks faded somewhat, as Baytex Energy gave back 16 cents, or 3%, to $5.27, while Suncor Energy subsided 33 cents to $41.01.
Grocery and pharmacy retailer Loblaw Cos reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, as expenses fell and discounting attracted more shoppers.
Its shares rose $2.11, or 3.3%, to $66.91. Rival Metro spiked 96 cents, or 2.4%, to $41.71.
Information technology issues also prospered, as Descartes Systems grew 43 cents, or 1.5%, to $29.58, while BlackBerry added seven cents to $10.17.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that manufacturing sales in Canada rose for the fourth consecutive month, up 0.3% to $51.5 billion in September.
The agency says the gain reflected higher sales in the transportation equipment and fabricated metal industries.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange plummeted 5.31 points to 741.85
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups remained negative on the day, as gold dipped 1.1%, energy slipped 0.9%, and materials were off 0.6%.
The five gainers were led by consumer staples, up 1.3%, consumer discretionaries, up 0.5%, and information technology, up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded mostly lower on Wednesday as a post-U.S. election rally slowed down while investors pored over a host of economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrials stepped back 54.92 points from Tuesday’s all-time high to 18,868.14, snapping a seven-day winning streak, with JPMorgan Chase leading decliners and Apple the top advancer.
The S&P 500 faded 3.45 points at 2,176.94, with utilities leading eight sectors lower and information technology the biggest riser.
The NASDAQ composite index moved higher 18.96 points to 5,294.58
The three major U.S. stock indexes have spiked more than 2% since Republican Donald Trump upset heavily-favoured Hillary Clinton to win the presidential election.
Experts are now saying market expectations for a December rate hike were more than 90%. Earlier on Wednesday, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said he would be surprised if the central bank did not raise rates next month.
In economic news, the October read on the U.S. producer price index came in unchanged, versus an expected increase of 0.3%. Industrial production for October was also unchanged.
Meanwhile, mortgage applications fell 9% amid the sharp increase in interest rates. Other reports released Wednesday included the Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market index, which showed sentiment held steady.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note were higher, lowering yields to 2.22% from Tuesday’s 2.24%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices skidded 33 cents to $45.48 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices eked up 10 cents to $1,224.60 U.S. an ounce.
