Equities in Canada’s largest markets moved in a negative direction by noon on Wednesday, with gains in industrial stocks offsetting losses in healthcare shares, ahead of the release of minutes from the Bank of Canada’s (BoC) latest policy meeting.
The TSX settled 87.23 points to move into lunch hour at 20,637.77.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.03 cents at 74.42 cents U.S.
In company news, Brookfield Asset Management rose 3.3% after the company’s reinsurance unit said it would acquire insurer Argo Group International
Holdings in a deal valued at $1.1 billion.
Brookfield shares gained 37 cents to $45.84.
Titan Medical plunged 63.6% as the medical device maker said it will prioritize the sale of all or some of its assets, and remains open to other cost-cutting measures. Titan shares plunged 67 cents, or 58.8%, to 47 cents.
The central bank will be releasing minutes from its January policy meeting, where it raised interest rates by 25 basis points, for the first time in the bank’s history, at 1:30 p.m. ET. The move comes after a transparency review by the International Monetary Fund.
Investors will also weigh BoC Governor Tiff Macklem’s speech from Tuesday, where he said that no further interest rate hikes will be needed if the economy stalls and inflation comes down as expected.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange sank 2.46 points to 618.68.
All but two of the 12 subgroups slid midday, with health-care docking 1.7%, information technology off 0.9%, and materials, down 0.8%.
The two gainers were real-estate, poking ahead 0.4%, and consumer staples, up 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks slid Wednesday as investors returned focus to the latest batch of corporate earnings. Wall Street also continued to weigh the outlook for future Federal Reserve policy moves.
The Dow Jones Industrials plummeted 181.1 points at 33,975.59.
The S&P 500 fell 42.13 points, or 1%, to 4,121.87.
The NASDAQ Composite skidded 185.8 points, or 1.5%, to 11,927.99.
Chipotle slid more than 4% after missing expectations on the top and bottom lines in its latest results. Meanwhile, CVS improved 2% and Uber gained more than 6%, following earnings that came in above Wall Street estimates. Google parent Alphabet tumbled nearly 8% amid concerns of rising competition in the artificial intelligence space.
Investors are looking to post-bell earnings from companies including Walt Disney and Mattel to gauge if there are any signs of slowing consumer spending or a weakening in the economy.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were higher, lowering yields to 3.67% from Tuesday’s 3.69%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices advanced 59 cents to $77.73 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices were higher $3.10 to $1,887.90 U.S. an ounce.