Equities in Canada’s largest centre barely moved in the first hour of trade on Wednesday as markets remained wary of an escalation in Middle East tensions after Iran's attack on U.S.-led forces in Iraq.
The TSX Composite Index struggled to a gain of 7.62 points to kick off the session on Wednesday at 17,175.68
The Canadian dollar slid 0.10 cents to 76.81 cents U.S.
Canada issued a travel warning asking its citizens to avoid "non-essential" travel to Iran, hours after Iran launched missile attacks on U.S.-led forces in Iraq.
Caltex Australia confirmed it has been approached by U.K.-based EG Group and others to acquire some or all of its assets, setting up a potential A$9-billion bidding war against Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard.
Shares in Couche-Tard improved 38 cents to $43.03.
CIBC raised the price target on Hudson's Bay Co. to $11.00 from $10.25. Bay shares edged upward two cents to $10.88.
Scotiabank raised the price target on Alaris Royalty to $21.00 from $20.00. Alaris shares gained four cents to $21.85.
Scotiabank raised the price target on Automotive Properties REIT to $13.00 from $12.50. Units of the fund tacked on a dime to $12.14.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange deleted 0.84 points to 584.63
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided, as health-care swooned 1.1%, gold lost 1%, and materials surrendered 0.8%.
The half-dozen gainers were led by information technology, up 0.6%, consumer staples, ahead 0.5%, and industrials, eking ahead 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks opened flat on Wednesday as investors recovered from a steep overnight decline after Iran fired rockets at an Iraqi airbase that hosts American troops.
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 28.7 points to 28,612.04
The S&P 500 rebuilt 9.95 points to 3,247.13.
The NASDAQ regained 32.61 points to 9,101.19.
Boeing shares were down 1.3%. A Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 airliner burst into flames shortly after take-off from Tehran on Wednesday, killing all 176 people aboard in a crash that an initial report blamed on engine failure. Ukrainian officials later said, however, that the cause of the crash was yet to be determined.
At their worst levels of overnight trading, S&P 500 futures were down more than 1.6% along with NASDAQ 100 futures. Dow futures lost more than 400 points overnight.
Sentiment also got a boost after ADP and Moody’s Analytics said U.S. private payrolls soared by 202,000 last month. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a print of 150,000.
Investors were initially rattled late Tuesday after U.S. military officials told the media the Al Asad airbase, which is located in western Iraq, had come under attack, with multiple projectiles hitting it.
Investors around the globe have been bracing themselves for a bigger conflict between Iran and the U.S. after last week’s assassination of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, a top-ranking Iranian military official.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury gained a slight bit of ground, lowering yields to 1.83% from Tuesday’s 1.83%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 58 cents to $62.12 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices removed $1.40 to $1,572.90 U.S. an ounce.
