Canada's main stock index opened lower on Wednesday, hurt by losses in the consumer staples sector after food retailer Loblaw Cos reported disappointing quarterly earnings.
The S&P/TSX Composite gave back 31.91 points worth of the previous session’s gains to open Wednesday at 16,540.77
The Canadian dollar regained 0.06 cents to 76.19 cents U.S.
Canadian National Railway beat analysts' estimates for quarterly adjusted profit on Tuesday, as the country's largest railroad operator shipped higher volumes of crude, refined petroleum products and grains.
CNR shares chugged $3.67, or 3.1%, to $123.20.
Loblaw reported a 2.4% fall in quarterly profit, as the Canadian food retailer continues to invest in building its e-commerce network and retail stores.
Loblaw shares lost $2.64, or 3.9%, to $65.22
Shareholders of WestJet Airlines on Tuesday voted in favor of its deal to be acquired by billionaire Gerry Schwartz's private equity firm Onex Corp for $3.5 billion.
WestJet shares inched up two cents to $30.07, while shares in Onex picked up 84 cents, or 1.1%, to $79.89.
J.P. Morgan raised the target price on Rogers Communications to $70.00 from $69.00. Rogers shares gained 84 cents, or 1.2%, to $70.18.
RBC raised the price target on Roxgold to $1.40 from $1.25. Roxgold shares pushed forward four cents, or 3.6%, to $1.14.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 1.68 points to 590.64
Seven of the 12 Toronto subgroups were lower in the first hour, with consumer staples and health-care each tailing off 1.2%, while utilities shed 0.5%.
The five gainers were led by gold, up 0.8%, while industrials and materials each perked 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite rose slightly on Wednesday and erased earlier losses as Wall Street pored through a slew of corporate earnings reports while trade worries and regulatory fears around Big Tech persisted.
The Dow Jones Industrials dumped 96.37 early Wednesday to 27,252.82
The S&P 500 eked up 0.66 points to 3,006.13
The NASDAQ Composite added 7.6 points to 8,259
UPS jumped nearly 8% after posting earnings and revenue that topped analyst expectations. The company said its strong results were driven by higher demand for its Next Day Air and Ground services.
AT&T, meanwhile, gained 2.6% after the company reported net phone subscriber growth that topped estimates. The telecom giant also raised its 2019 free cash flow guidance.
But not all results were positive.
Boeing shares dropped 0.8% after the aerospace giant posted a massive loss for the previous quarter. The loss comes as costs pile up while its 737 Max jet remains grounded.
Caterpillar shares slid 4.5% after the company reported weaker-than-expected earnings and revenue amid rising costs. The company has been under pressure as U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods remain in place while the two countries try to work out a trade deal.
Despite the mixed results from the two Dow members, the earnings season is off to a good start. About a quarter of S&P 500 companies have reported second-quarter earnings so far. Of those companies, 78% have posted a better-than-expected profit
Facebook, Ford Motor, PayPal and Tesla were all scheduled to report quarterly results after the bell Wednesday.
Wall Street also kept a close eye on tech stocks as companies in the sector face mounting regulatory pressure. Facebook, Amazon and Alphabet all traded lower after the Justice Department announced a broad antitrust review of big tech companies.
Facebook also fell more than 1% after the Federal Trade Commission hit the social media giant with a $5-billion fine over its privacy policies.
Stocks closed higher in the previous session after media reports that American and Chinese negotiators will meet for face-to-face talks next week.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained, lowering yields to 2.05% from Tuesday’s 2.07%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices tacked on 48 cents at $57.25 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices tacked on $6.30 to $1,428 U.S. an ounce.
