Canada's main stock index managed to hold onto slight gains on Wednesday, supported by banking stocks following a widely expected interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended Wednesday 9.78 points above breakeven to 16,169.28
The Canadian dollar slid 0.38 cents to 76.81 cents.
Communications issues were the big winners, as BCE hiked 86 cents, or 1.7%, to $52.85, while Rogers Communications gained 77 cents, or 1.2%, to $66.80.
Among consumer discretionary stocks, Magna International jumped $2.01, or 3%, to $69.95, and Canadian Tire improved 51 cents to $154.52.
Industrials were next in line, as Canadian National Railways picked up $2.53, or 2.2%, to $116.50, while Air Canada got 14 cents worth of lift to $27.63.
In the gold fields, Barrick Gold lost 43 cents, or 2.9%, to $14.08, while Goldcorp shed 36 cents, or 2.7%
Health-care issues faded, as Aurora Cannabis lost 55 cents, or 4.3%, to $12.22, while Canopy Growth demurred 68 cents, or 1%, to $67.57.
Among other resources, Agnico Eagle Mines lost $1.75, or 3.8%, to $43.80.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange skidded 1.5 points to 707.18
The 12 subgroups were equally divided, as communications services hiked 1.4%, while consumer discretionary stocks traveled 1.3% higher, and industrials solidified 0.8%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by gold, down 2%, health-care was off 1.5%, and materials slid 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks closed lower on Wednesday, giving up earlier gains, as comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell following a monetary policy announcement sent interest rates lower and bank stocks along with them.
The Dow Jones Industrials plummeted 106.93 points to conclude Wednesday at 26,385.28
The S&P 500 fell 9.59 points to 2,905.97
The NASDAQ plunged 17.1 points into the red to 7,990.37
Powell told reported after the Fed announced it raised rates for the third time this year he does not see inflation surprising to the upside, noting: "It's not in our forecasts."
Shares of J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup all dropped more than 1%.
IBM shares rose 1.8% after analysts at UBS upgraded them to buy from neutral, predicting the company will report better-than-expected earnings next year.
Earlier on Wednesday, Fed officials upped their outlook for U.S. economic growth this year and next. They now expect the U.S. economy to grow by 3.1% in 2018, up from 2.8%. They also see the economy expanding 2.5% in 2019, up from 2.4%.
The Fed also raised its target overnight a range to 2% to 2.25%, up from 1.75% to 2%. This marks the central bank's eighth rate hike since 2015.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained sharply, lowering yields to 3.05% from Tuesday’s 3.10%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 48 cents to $71.80 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid $5.90 to $1,199.20 U.S. an ounce.
