Canada’s main stock index dipped Wednesday, with telecom and utility 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 101.72 points to close Wednesday’s session at 20,274.21.
The Canadian dollar was unchanged at 73.58 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.
Energy took a hit, with Tamarack Valley letting go of 26 cents, or 7.7%, to $3.10, while Baytex Energy sank 32 cents, or 6.8%, to $4.41.
Among tech stocks, also negative, HUT 8 Mining fainting $1.75, or 11.3%, to $13.78, while Shopify stumbled $4.69, or 4.6%, to $96.89.
Utilities led the sectors which moved higher, as Boralex took on $1.02, or 3.3%, to $32.22, while Brookfield Renewables hiked $1.31, or 3.9%, to $35.06.
In the communications sector, Cogeco Communications jumped $1.91, or 3.4%, to $57.93, while Rogers Communications surged $1.25, or 2.1%, to $62.12.
In real-estate, Colliers International perked $3.36, or 2.3%, to $147.36, while Canadian Apartment REIT took on 93 cents, or 1.9%, to $49.63.
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 slid 0.20 points to 533.97.
Amazingly, all but two of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground on the day, with utilities firing 1.5%, communications up 1.3%, and real-estate was better 1%,
The two laggards proved to be energy, cratering 3.8%, and information technology sagged 1.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks retreated on Wednesday as investors assessed data indicating falling inflation, while the jobs report loomed.
The Dow Jones Industrials declined 70.13 points at 36,054.43.
The S&P 500 let go of 17.84 points to 4,549.34.
The NASDAQ dipped 83.2 points to 14,146.71.
The market initially got a morning boost after economic data. 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. November 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 10% after reporting third-quarter results that came in below analyst expectations. On the other hand, homebuilder stock Toll Brothers gained more than 2% after exceeding expectations on the top and bottom lines.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury picked up ground, dropping yields to 4.12% from Tuesday’s 4.17%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices faded $3.05 to $69.27 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices regained $8.60 to $2,044.90.