Equities in Toronto struggled their way toward the breakeven point, falling just short at the closing bell, on weakness in the tech and health-care sectors.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index finished Wednesday negative 11.26 points to 22,075.96.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.11 cents to 80.18 cents U.S.
Information technology proved the main agent of the index’s Wednesday demise, as VIQ Solutions slumbered 19 cents, or 8.4%, to $2.06, or 8.4%, to $2.06, while Shopify faded $49.97, or 5.4%, to $879.61.
Health-care issues also took their lumps, with Tilray off 23 cents, or 2.2%, to $10.13, while Chartwell Retirement Residences dropped 19 cents, or 1.5%, to $12.38.
In real-estate, FirstService let go of $3.36, or 1.8%, to $181.05, while Summit Industrial Income REIT gave up 39 cents, or 1.8%, to $21.72.
Resource stocks tried to tilt the index upward, with Teck Resources jumping $1.94, or 4%, to $51.01, while Lithium Americas jumped $4.82, or 11.7%, to $46.01.
Gold stocks featured Kinross, which garnered 21 cents, or 2.9%, to $7.40, while Wesdome Gold improved 48 cents, or 3.1%, to $15.86.
In utilities, Boralex took on $1.14, or 2.9%, to $40.19, while Brookfield Renewable Partners leaped 93 cents, or 1.8%, to $51.36.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 7.33 points to 885.52.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground on the day, as materials and gold each sprinted 1.4%, while utilities gained 0.9%.
The five laggards were weighed most by information technology, down 2.3%, health-care, 1.1% unwell, and real-estate, crumbling 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks slid on Wednesday, ending a winning streak for the market, as investors monitored developments in Ukraine and the bond market.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 65.38 points to finish Wednesday’s session at 35,228.81
The S&P 500 faded 29.15 points to 4,602.45. The Dow and S&P 500 each snapped a four-day streak of gains.
The NASDAQ Composite swooned 177.36 points, or 1.2%, to 14,442.28.
The energy market swings appeared to drive action in equities on Wednesday. Oil stocks moved higher, with Valero rising roughly 4% and Phillips 66 gaining about 4.8%.
Several retail stocks were under pressure on Wednesday after disappointing quarterly reports, including Five Below losing 6.5% and Chewy sliding 16%.
RH fell 13% after the company’s fourth-quarter revenue came in short of expectations. On the positive side, apparel stock Lululemon jumped more than 9% after issuing upbeat guidance and announcing a share buyback program.
Semiconductor stocks were another weak spot for the market, with Marvell Technology falling 4% and Nvidia shedding more than 3%. Micron fell 3.5% despite a stronger-than-expected earnings report.
Elsewhere, shares of Apple, which had risen for 11 consecutive sessions, slipped 0.7%.
Wednesday was also a busy day of economic data. The ADP payrolls report said private firms added 455,000 jobs in March. Economists
surveyed by Dow Jones expected 450,000. The final reading for fourth quarter U.S. GDP showed 6.9% growth, below the preliminary reading of 7%.
Russia said late Tuesday it would reduce its military presence in some parts of Ukraine, but several countries — including the U.S. and U.K. — remain skeptical over Moscow’s pledge. Meanwhile, Russian attacks on Ukraine continued Wednesday.
Treasury prices gained ground, lowering yields to 2.34% from Tuesday’s 2.39%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices jumped $3.09 to $107.39 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices progressed $22.10 to $1,940.10 U.S. an ounce.