Equities slipped into negative country in Canada by midday Wednesday, as losses among financial shares offset a rally in gold miners as investors sought safety in the precious metal amid rising geopolitical tensions.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 18.22 points to greet noon at 15,238.13
The Canadian dollar sidled back 0.23 cents to 78.7 cents U.S.
Supply chain software company Kinaxis Inc fell 12.9% to $69.43 as several analysts cut their target prices and recommendations on the stock.
Semafo jumped 10.3% to $2.99 after Credit Suisse raised its recommendation on the gold miner to "outperform" from "neutral" following its second-quarter results, and Finning International Inc rose 6.9% to $27.63 after the heavy equipment company reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations and raised its dividend.
Gold royalty and streaming company Franco Nevada Corp jumped 4.6% to $96.27 after reporting quarterly results late on Tuesday.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc lost 4% to $18.96 after the company said its subsidiaries in Australia were the subject of a tax audit.
Canada-listed shares of Tahoe Resources Inc fell 1.8% to $6.48 after the miner said it would stop paying dividends and suspended overall guidance amid uncertainty about its operations in Guatemala.
Stella-Jones Inc rose 7.2% to $46.00 after the wood products producer reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue.
On the macroeconomic calendar, Statistics Canada reported Canadian municipalities issued $8.1 billion worth of building permits in June, up 2.5% from May and the second highest value on record.
The agency attributes the rise to higher construction intentions for multi-family dwellings and commercial buildings.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, meanwhile, said the trend in housing starts was 217,550 units in July, compared to 215,175 units in June.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange shed 1.37 points to 763.8
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative, with health-care fading 1.8%, information technology down 0.7%, and real-estate off 0.5%.
The five gainers were led by gold, up 1.9%, materials in the green 0.5%, and industrials stronger by 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities traded lower on Wednesday as U.S.-North Korean relations heated up.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell 50.36 points to 22,034.98, with Walt Disney contributing the most losses. The 30-stock index snapped a streak of nine straight record closes in the previous session.
The S&P 500 lost 2.39 points to 2,472.53, with the consumer discretionary sector leading decliners.
The NASDAQ came off its lows of the morning, but stayed negative 18.22 points to 6,354.66
President Donald Trump warned North Korea on Tuesday about facing "fire and fury" if North Korea delivers more threats against the U.S.
North Korea responded by saying it was "carefully examining" the idea of a missile strike on Guam, a U.S. Pacific territory.
Defense stocks spiked, with Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman all hitting record highs.
Wall Street also focused on corporate earnings from Disney. The company posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings but its sales missed expectations. The media giant's stock dropped approximately 5% in early trade and shaved off about 34 points from the price-weighted Dow.
Mylan Labs and Wendy's were among the companies that reported earnings before the bell Wednesday, with 21st Century Fox set to report after the close.
Calendar second-quarter earnings have been mostly strong. More than 70% of S&P 500 companies that had reported posted better-than-expected earnings while 69% have beaten of sales.
In economic news, productivity in the second quarter rose 0.9%, more than the expected gain of 0.7%. Mortgage applications rose by 3% last week, boosted by a drop in rates. Wholesale trade data showed inventories posted their biggest gain in six months.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note hiked sharply, dropping yields to 2.24% from Tuesday’s 2.27%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices inched up six cents to $49.23 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices jumped $15.90 to $1,278.50 U.S. an ounce.
