Stocks in Toronto wandered toward the finish Wednesday and for the month of May, as weakness in the energy sector weighed things down.
The TSX finished Wednesday in the red 167.46 points to 19,572.24.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.15 cents to 73.68 cents U.S.
Among energy casualties, Crescent Point Energy gave over 33 cents, or 3.7%, to $8.54, while Precision Drilling lost $2.02, or 3.4%, to $56.83.
Industrials also did not fare so well, with CAE crumbling $1.90, or 6.4%, to $28.01, while Exchange Income Corporation shares doffed $2.03, or 3.8%, to $51.93.
In health-care, Tilray lost 19 cents, or 7.8%, to $2.26, while Canopy Growth shed three cents, or 2.6%, to $1.13.
Gold tried to balance things out, with Centerra Gold grabbing 75 cents, or 10.1%, to $8.20, while Sandstorm Gold acquired 29 cents, or 4.2%, to $7.24.
In real-estate, Altus Group gained 82 cents, or 1.9%, to $44.22, while units of Boardwalk REIT grew $1.04, or 1.8%, to $60.50.
In materials, Osisko Mining picked up 12 cents, or 3.9%, to $3.21, while Silvercrest Mining took on 25 cents, or 2.9%, to $8.92.
On the economic scene, Statistics Canada reports real gross domestic product rose 0.8% in the first quarter, after posting no change in the previous quarter.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 1.14 points to 595.82.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups lost ground, energy handing back 2.3%, while health-care and industrials each bowed 1.3%.
The three gainers proved to be gold, ahead 1.4%, real-estate better by 0.2%, and materials eking up 0.02%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell Wednesday as investors kept an eye on the federal debt ceiling debate in Washington on the final trading day of May.
The Dow Jones Industrials dumped 134.51 points to close Wednesday at 32,908.27.
The Dow fell almost 3.5% in the month, pulled down by losses greater than 10% from Nike, Walt Disney, Walgreens, 3M, Chevron and Dow, Inc.
The S&P 500 fell 26.59 points to 4,179.83. The much-broader index added nearly 0.3% in the month, despite at one point relinquishing its month-to-date gains during Wednesday’s selloff.
The NASDAQ tumbled 82.14 points to 12,935.28. The tech-heavy index finished the month 5.8% higher, helped by a rally in artificial intelligence-related stocks and other technology names.
President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced a deal over the weekend to cap federal baseline spending for two years and raise the debt ceiling, but the agreement has not yet been ratified.
The deal cleared a major test Tuesday night after advancing to the House floor following a seven-to-six vote in the House Rules Committee.
The floor vote is expected to take place around 8:30 p.m. ET Wednesday.
The outperformance of the tech-heavy NASDAQ is due in large part to the excitement around artificial intelligence, which briefly pushed Nvidia’s market cap above $1 trillion on Tuesday. However, many on Wall Street are worried that the market’s strength has been too narrow.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury inched higher, lowering yields to 3.64% from Tuesday’s 3.68%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slipped $1.59 to $67.87 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices acquired $4.50 to $1,981.60 U.S. an ounce.