Canada’s main stock index dipped by noon hour on Wednesday, with telecoms stocks leading, while rate-sensitive real estate stocks gained as investors mostly cheered the Bank of Canada’s latest decision to hold interest rates steady.
The TSX Composite fell 17.76 points by Wednesday’s noon bell to 20,358.17.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.06 cents at 73.64 cents U.S.
The Bank of Canada held its target for the overnight rate at 5%, with the Bank Rate at 5.25% and the deposit rate at 5%. The Bank is continuing its policy of quantitative tightening.
Shopify fell $2.56, or 2.5%, to $99.02 after at least two brokerages downgraded the e-commerce firm’s stock.
Canada recorded a larger-than-expected trade surplus of $2.97 billion in October, as exports rose marginally but imports slumped, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, the seasonally-adjusted IVEY PMI rose to 54.7 in November from 53.4 in October, its highest level since April.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gathered 3.25 points to 537.42.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground midday, with communications up 2%, while real-estate each picked up 1.5%, and utilities pushed higher 1.2%.
The two laggards proved to be energy, off 3%, and information technology sagged 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks wavered Wednesday as investors assessed economic data indicating inflation is falling.
The Dow Jones Industrials moved upward 16.96 points, off its highs of the morning, at 36,141.52.
The S&P 500 inched higher 1.02 points to 4,568.20.
The NASDAQ gained 10.69 points to 14,240.60.
Stocks cooled from earlier advances, with the Dow at one up point up nearly 170 points. A drop in labor costs boded positively for the path of inflation, while a jump in productivity signaled the potential for the economy to skirt a recession. Private payroll data from ADP offered the latest indication that the job market, long considered a pain point for the Federal Reserve, was easing.
Cloud company Box tumbled nearly 9% after reporting third-quarter results that came in below analyst expectations. On the other hand, homebuilder stock Toll Brothers gained more than 3% after exceeding expectations on the top and bottom lines.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury picked up ground, dropping yields to 4.11% from Tuesday’s 4.17%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices faded $2.99 to $69.33 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices regained $11.30 to $2,047.60.