Stocks in Toronto failed to cross the breakeven threshold Wednesday, despite strength in consumer staple and real-estate issues.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index stayed negative 46.24 points to end Wednesday at 15,169.94
The Canadian dollar skidded 0.25 cents at 77.38 cents U.S.
Among consumer staples, Loblaw Companies grew 98 cents, or 1.5%, to $64.46, while Saputo progressed 50 cents, or 1.2%, to $41.10.
In the real-estate sector, Colliers International gathered $1.08, or 1.2%, to $88.02, while Brookfield Asset Management gained 15 cents to $50.15.
Telecoms also succeeded, with TELUS climbing 43 cents, or 1%, to $45.00, while Shaw Communications added 47 cents, or 1.9%, to $24.87.
Materials proved the biggest drag on the index, with First Quantum Minerals down $1.24, or 6.9%, to $16.69, and Teck Resources dipping 87 cents, or 2.7%, to $31.72.
Gold miners also had a rough time with Barrick Gold, shedding 20 cents, or 1.4%, to $15.99, while Goldcorp retreated 22 cents, or 1.2%, to $17.50
Health-care stocks also weighed, as Aphria Inc. lost 70 cents, or 5.5%, to $11.97, while Canopy Growth dumped 93 cents, or 2.8%, to $32.38.
In the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported that average weekly earnings in Canada were $996 in January, little changed from the previous month.
Earnings were up 3.2% compared with January 2017, largely the result of gains in the second half of 2017
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 18.61 points, or 2.3%, to 784.22
Seven of the12 TSX subgroups were positive, with consumer staples charging up 1.6%, while real-estate built up 1.1%, and telecoms clicked 0.9% higher
The five laggards were weighed most by materials, falling 2.3%, gold, dulling 1.8%, and health-care, off 1.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
The NASDAQ composite closed lower for a second straight day on Wednesday as technology stocks failed to recover from steep losses seen in the previous session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average trundled lower 9.29 points to 23,848.42, after spending much of the session in positive country.
The S&P 500 dropped 7.62 points to 2,605, as technology declined 0.9%
The tech-heavy NASDAQ lost 59.58 points to 6,957.39, as Amazon faltered 4.4%, Netflix pulled back 4.9% and Apple doffed 1.1%. At its session high, the NASDAQ rose as much as 0.4%.
Amazon fell after Axios reported that President Donald Trump was "obsessed" with the company. The report also said Trump wants to "go after" Amazon. Amazon's stock traded 3% lower in afternoon trade.
Apple declined after Goldman Sachs analysts predicted lower iPhone sales in March and for the June quarter than the rest of the Street. They also cut their price target on the stock to $159 from $161.
Tech fell 3.5% on Tuesday, marking its biggest one-day decline since Feb. 8. The move lower in tech sent ripples through the entire stock market as the major averages fell more than 1%. The drop in the sector took place after media reports that Nvidia is temporarily suspending self-driving tests.
The selling was exacerbated by further pressure on Facebook shares. Reports emerged last week alleging that Cambridge Analytica, an analytics company, had gathered data from 50 million Facebook profiles without users' permission. CNN reported Tuesday that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify in front of Congress on the Cambridge Analytica leak.
In economic news, the U.S. economy grew by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the final read on the U.S. economy for the period.
Meantime, investors around the world have been keeping a close eye on global trade issues, debating what economic implications there could be if a trade war occurred between China and the U.S.
This comes after Trump signed an executive memorandum that would inflict tariffs on Chinese imports — of up to $60 billion, prompting the Asian nation to retaliate.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note slumped, raising yields back to Tuesday’s 2.78%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 62 cents a barrel to $64.63 U.S.
Gold prices skidded $17.50 to $1,330.40 U.S. an ounce.
