Canada's main stock index dropped on Wednesday, hurt by losses in the consumer staples sector after food retailer Loblaw Cos reported disappointing quarterly earnings.
The S&P/TSX Composite came off its lows of the morning, still sinking 18.8 points to greet noon Wednesday at 16,553.88
The Canadian dollar drooped 0.02 cents to 76.11 cents U.S.
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 $1.36, or 2%, to $66.50
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 popped $4.04, or 3.4%, to $123.57.
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 a penny to $30.70, while shares in Onex picked up 11 cents to $79.16.
The top percentage gainer on the TSX was Cott Corp, which jumped 62 cents, or 3.8%, to $16.83, followed by shares of gold miner Eldorado Gold, which rose eight cents to $9.93
CannTrust Holdings fell 67 cents, or 19.5%, the most on the TSX, to $2.76, after a report said that the company's chairman and chief executive officer were informed in November of its unlicensed cannabis growing.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 2.67 points to 591.63
Seven of the 12 Toronto subgroups were lower midday, with health-care tailing off 0.7%, while energy and utility stocks each retreated 0.4%.
The five gainers were led by industrials, up 0.6%, while communications did better 0.4%, and consumer discretionary stocks improved 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The NASDAQ Composite rose to an all-time high on Wednesday as earnings from Texas Instruments lifted chipmaker stocks and helped shake off regulatory concerns facing Big Tech
The Dow Jones Industrials burrowed lower 133.81 by noon ET to 27,215.38
The S&P 500 was unchanged at 3,005.53, as Wall Street pored through a slew of corporate earnings reports while trade worries persisted
The NASDAQ added 16.6 points to 8,268.01
Texas Instruments rallied more than 7% on better-than-expected quarterly results.
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 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 slid 20 cents at $56.57 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices inched ahead 80 cents to $1,422.50 U.S. an ounce.
