Equities in Canada’s largest centre slid slightly into the red by the finish on Wednesday, as gold and other metals weighed things down.
The TSX eased back 0.72 points to finish Wednesday at 19,899.07.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.22 cents to 73.91 cents U.S.
Health concerns led the way upward, with Tilray clearing breakeven 19 cents, or 5.6%, to $3.61, while Bausch Health Companies collected a dime to $11.33.
Among energy plays, Suncor acquired $1.18, or 2.8%, to $43.09, while Enerplus picked up 40 cents, or 1.8%, to $22.41.
In tech stocks, Coveo Solutions gained 41 cents, or 4.2%, to $10.19, while Docebo climbed 69 cents, or 1.4%, to $51.53.
Among gold stocks, Wesdome docked 39 cents, or 5.3%, to $6.94, while Centerra Gold dulled 26 cents, or 3.3%, to $7.62.
In other metals, Endeavour Silver fell 13 cents, or 3.4%, to $3.75, while Fortuna Silver lost 12 cents, or 3%, to $3.84.
Real-estate also took its lumps, with Storagevault Canada fading 10 cents, or 2.1%, to $4.69, while Dream Industrial REIT handed over 23 cents, or 1.7%, to $13.68.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada notifies us wholesale sales fell 2.8% to $80.5 billion in June., while Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation informed us that housing starts fell sharply in July to 255,000, from June’s 281,573.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange edged up 1.88 points to 591.36.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups remained positive by the final bell, with health-care powering 1.9%, while energy and information technology each climbed 0.6%.
The five laggards were weighed most by gold, dipping 0.9%, while materials and real-estate retreated 0.4% each.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell Wednesday as investors digested a summary of the Federal Reserve’s July meeting, which hinted at potentially higher rates.
The Dow Jones Industrials lost 180.65 points to close Wednesday at 34,765.74
The S&P 500 dropped 33.53 points to 4,404.33.
The NASDAQ index ditched 156.42 points, or 1.3%, to 13,474.63.
In the central bank’s July meeting minutes, officials said additional tightening may be necessary to bring down inflation.
The federal funds rate is currently in a range between 5.25% to 5.5%, the highest level in more than 22 years.
Intel fell more than 2% to lead the Dow lower. Communications services and real estate were the worst-performing S&P 500 sectors, losing 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively.
Meanwhile, the backend of the corporate earnings season rolled on. Target shares rose more than 2% even after the retailer cut its full-year outlook. Insurance company Progressive jumped nearly 9%, also on the back of its earnings report.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury staggered, raising yields to 4.27% from Tuesday’s 4.22%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices shed $1.81 to $79.18 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slipped $12.80 to $1,922.40 U.S. an ounce.