Equities in Canada’s largest market again had trouble breaking the breakeven barrier Wednesday, as losses in metals and gold stocks overcame strength in industrial issues.
The TSX climbed to within 3.85 points of breakeven to close the Wednesday session at 20,680.83.
The Canadian dollar eased back 0.2 cents to 74.45 cents U.S.
Gold let much of the side down Wednesday as NovaGold tottered 27 cents, or 3.4%, to $7.58, while Centerra Gold gave back 36 cents, or 3.6%, to $9.62.
In materials, Capstone Mining shed 39 cents, or 5.4%, to $6.82, while Lundin Mining fell 45 cents, or 4.1%, to $10.58.
Energy stocks also dawdled, with IPCO dipping 36 cents, or 2.6%, to $13.54, while Crescent Point Energy dropped 18 cents, or 1.7%, to $10.29.
In industrials, Richelieu Hardware gained $1.30, or 3.4%, to $39.50, while Brookfield Business climbed 67 cents, or 2.7%, to $25.37.
Consumer staples showed some strength, with Primo Water advancing 32 cents, or 1.6%, to $20.69, while Maple Leaf Foods jumped 35 cents, or 1.3%, to $27.45.
Financials also made some hay, as Fairfax Financial Holdings popped $21.31, or 2.3%, to $931.43, while Sprott Inc. surged 87 cents, or 1.8%, to $49.12.
On the economic calendar, the Raw Materials Price Index decreased 1.7% in March and was down 16.5% year over year.
The Industrial Product Price Index edged up 0.1% in March from the previous month and fell 1.8% year over year.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said housing starts in Canada slipped by 11% over a month earlier to 213,865 units in March 2023, undershooting market expectations of 227,800 units.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 4.33 points to 626.16.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative with gold dulling in price 1.3%, materials lower by 1.2%, and energy, lower by 0.9%.
The five gainers were led by industrials, up 0.6%, while consumer staples and financials each picked up 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 finished little changed Wednesday as another loaded earnings day kicked into full swing and investors parsed the latest results from companies including Netflix and Morgan Stanley
The Dow Jones Industrials finished the day lower 79.62 points to 33,897.01.
The benchmark index dipped 0.35 points to 4,154.52.
The NASDAQ battled its way into the green 3.81 points to close the day at 12,157.23.
While many of the companies reporting in the last day topped analysts’ low-bar estimates, traders found something wrong within the results to send the stocks lower. A lack of forecasts from the major companies also left investors on edge, with the Federal Reserve set to raise interest rates again in a couple weeks and recession fears swirling.
Netflix shares fell 3.2% as the streaming giant disappointed investors by pushing back plans to clamp down on password sharing. In its latest quarter, Netflix beat analysts’ expectations on earnings per share, and added more subscribers than expected, but fell short of revenue estimates.
Earnings from major banks institutions wrapped up with Morgan Stanley, gaining 0.7%. Despite strong results, the stock initially traded down as margins for its investment banking, wealth and asset management businesses were weaker than expected, according to Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo. Normalizing the bank’s tax rate would show weaker-than-expected earnings for the quarter, he said.
Dominant electric vehicle maker Tesla headlines earnings result after the bell. IBM and Las Vegas Sands are also on deck.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury weakened, lifting yields to 3.60% from Tuesday’s 3.58%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite
directions.
Oil prices ditched $1.77 to $79.09 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices skidded 13 dollars to $2,006.70 U.S. an ounce.