Equities in Canada’s main market were subdued at the open on Wednesday, a day after hitting record highs, as weakness in technology and financial sectors countered gains in commodity-linked shares.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index receded 3.89 points, to open Wednesday at 22,070.46, after several consecutive days of all-time highs.
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.01 cents to 79.45 cents U.S.
Eight Capital initiated coverage on Apollo Silver with a buy rating. Apollo shares dropped two cents, or 3.4%, to 57 cents.
National Bank of Canada raised the target price on Dollarama to $69.00 from $66.00. Dollarama shares let go of 73 cents, or 1.1%, to $68.17.
TD Securities raised the target price on Dream Unlimited to $58.00 from $55.00. Dream shares gained a dime at $49.73.
Quebec on Tuesday announced payments of $500 each to residents to counter the rising cost of living ahead of a fall election and said it sees a $6.5-billion budget deficit for fiscal 2022/23.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 4.24 points to 875.92.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower in the first hour, with information technology subsiding 1.3%, while financial and consumer discretionary stocks each off 0.9%.
The four gainers were led by health-care, ahead 3.2%, energy, better by 2.5%, and gold, up 1.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks fell Wednesday as oil prices gained, renewing inflation fears.
The Dow Jones Industrials sagged 231.74 points to 34,575.72.
The S&P 500 dropped 25.36 points to 4,486.25
The NASDAQ Composite slumped 110.86 points to 13,997.95.
Traders digested the latest news on the Ukraine-Russia war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for more pressure on Russia from other countries as the conflict appears to be entering a stalemate.
Energy stocks rallied Wednesday as oil prices rose. Occidental Petroleum and Marathon Oil were among the top gainers on the S&P 500, respectively rising about 3% and 2%.
General Mills added more than 5% after the food maker reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings Wednesday and raised its full-year outlook.
On the downside, Adobe shares fell nearly 8% after the company forecasted lower-than-expected profit and revenue in its fiscal second quarter.
Treasury prices gained ground, lowering yields to 2.35% from Tuesday’s 2.38%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained $4.61 to $113.88 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices zoomed $14.80 to $1,936.10 U.S. an ounce.