Equities in Canada’s biggest market fell on Wednesday, pressured by a dour revenue forecast from Rogers Communications and a drop in energy shares, with losses limited by gains in material stocks.
The TSX Composite Index shed 24.1 points to reach noon ET at 16,367.42
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.02 cents at 76.40 cents U.S.
Rogers capsized $4.42, or 6.7%, to $61.97 after lowering its full-year revenue forecast, triggering a 2% decline in the communication services index
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Eldorado Gold, which jumped 21 cents, or 2.1%, to $10.28, and Agnico Eagle Mines, which rose $1.17, or 1.7%, to $70.63
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported that wholesale sales declined 1.2% to $64.3 billion in August, largely offsetting the 1.4% gain in July. Declines were recorded in five of seven sub-sectors, representing 85% of wholesale sales.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 2.04 points to 542.51
Seven of the 12 Toronto subgroups were lower by midday Wednesday, with communications stumbling 3.4%, while real-estate dropped 0.8%, consumer discretionaries were off 0.7%.
The five gainers were gold, up 1.3%, materials, up 0.7%, health-care took on 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Wednesday as investors digested earnings reports from Caterpillar and Boeing
The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained in the green 22.26 points to reach lunch hour at 26,810.36
The S&P 500 picked up 2.42 points to 2,998.41.
The NASDAQ Composite was unchanged at 8,104.01
Caterpillar said it earned $2.66 per share in the third quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 per share. Revenue came in at $12.758 billion, while Wall Street expected revenue of $13.572 billion. The heavy machinery manufacturer lowered its full-year earnings per share forecast to a range of $10.59 and $11.09, lower than the expected $11.70.
Meanwhile, Boeing shares climbed 3.4% after the airplane maker said it will stick to its timeline for the return of the 737 Max. That was enough to offset earnings that badly missed analyst expectations. The company reported a profit of $1.45 per share. Analysts expected a profit of $2.09.
Weak results from Texas Instruments weighed kept stocks in check, however. Texas instruments — which is often seen as a proxy for the microchip industry — plunged 6.5% after posting fourth-quarter guidance well below market estimates. Texas Instruments’ losses dragged down the broader chipmaker space.
ON Semiconductor dropped 3.3% while Qualcomm lost 1.2%.
Ford, Microsoft, and Tesla are among those scheduled to report their latest quarterly figures after market close.
Despite the weak results, the third-quarter earnings season has largely topped analyst expectations. Of the 118 S&P 500 companies that have reported, 81% have posted better-than-expected results
The Federal Reserve announced earlier this month it will purchase more $60 billion a month in Treasury bills to prevent liquidity crunches that took place earlier this year. The U.S. central bank is also expected to cut rates for a third time this year.
In Europe, U.K. lawmakers voted in favor of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit plan, but rejected his attempt to fast-track legislation to take the country out of the EU by the end of the month. The prime minister said the next step would be to wait for the EU to respond to a request to delay the current Brexit deadline of October 31.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.75% from Tuesday’s 1.77%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered 71 cents to $55.19 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices regained $8.80 to $1,496.30 U.S. an ounce.
