Canada's main stock index fell on Wednesday on weak investor sentiment after Bank of Canada raised benchmark interest rate.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index plummeted 210.45 points, or 1.4%, to approach noon Wednesday at 15,074.72,
The Canadian dollar increased in price 0.29 cents to 76.71 cents U.S.
Canadian National Railway shares dropped 0.6% to $107.64, after the railroad reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit as the company shipped higher volumes of crude and grains.
Shares of Restaurant Brands were down 0.4% to $74.06 after its quarterly profit missed Wall Street estimates as its Burger King unit struggled in a fiercely competitive U.S. market, offsetting gains in its Tim Hortons cafes.
Trican Well Service, gave up earlier gains, and skidded two cents to $1.69.
OceanaGold Corp fell 4.1% the most on the TSX, to $3.88. The second biggest decliner was New Gold down 3.1% to 95 cents.
The Bank of Canada today increased its target for the overnight rate to 1.75%. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 2% and the deposit rate is 1.5%
The central bank, which so far lifted rates five times since July 2017, tweaked its standard language on future hikes, dropping previous references to the gradual pace of tightening.
The central bank also warned that an increasing trade war between U.S. and China could become a major drag on global economic growth.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 2.13 points to 652.66
All but one of the 12 subgroups were lower, with materials down 2.3%, gold, sliding 1.7%, and industrials off 1.6%.
Only utilities cut through the gloom, gaining 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Wednesday as losses in tech and AT&T shares outweighed a post-earnings bounce in Boeing.
The Dow Jones Industrials shed 80.79 points to 25,110.64, as United Technologies and Disney lagged.
The S&P 500 doffed 18.56 points to 2,722.13, as the tech and financials sectors fell more than 1% each.
The NASDAQ tumbled 86.45 points, or 1.2%, to 7,351.09, as Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet all traded lower.
Facebook and Alphabet both fell more than 1%, while Apple slipped 0.8%. AT&T, meanwhile, dropped more than 6.5% after releasing its quarterly results.
Shares of J.P. Morgan Chase and Citigroup both pulled back more than 1%. Bank of America's stock dropped nearly 2%.
Boeing also raised its full-year guidance on earnings and sales. The report sent the stock up more than 1%.
The results come as investors slog through the busiest week of the earnings season. More than 100 S&P 500 companies are scheduled to report this week, including Amazon, Alphabet and Comcast. So far, 80% of the companies that have reported have topped earnings expectations
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury sprang to life, lowering yields to 3.13% from Monday’s 3.2%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices revived 59 cents at $67.02 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices skidded $4.70 an ounce to $1,233.30
