Stocks fell Wednesday, weighed largely by resource issues, while investors were on tenterhooks for word from U.S. tech giant Nvidia.
The TSX Composite Index retreated 198.79 points, or 1.1%, to finish trading Wednesday at 23,135,35.
The Canadian dollar backslid 0.16 cents to 74.20 cents U.S.
Investors assessed earnings from the Royal Bank of Canada and the National Bank of Canada, both of which reported higher third-quarter profits on Wednesday. RBC shares improved $3.34, or 2.1%, to $159,91, while National shares jumped $6.92, or 5.8%, to $126.81
In corporate news, Canadian energy firm Pieridae Energy Limited announced equity rights offering of $30 million, along with a standby offering of $25 million. Pieridae shares dropped two cents, or 6.2%, to 30 cents.
The information technology sector pulled down by a fall of $22.86, or 14.6%, to $133.88, in Kinaxis, after it announced its CEO, John Sicard, will retire from his role. Elsewhere in techs, Docebo stumbled $3.40, or 5.6%, to $57.91.
Materials wavered, with Ivanhoe Mines descending $1.06, or 5.6%, to $17.93, while SSR Mining dipped 35 cents, or 4.8%, to $6.94. In gold stocks, Iamgold faded 24 cents, or 3.5%, to $6.68, while OceanaGold slipped 15 cents, or 5.6%, to $57.91.
Communications provided some positives, as Quebecor rose 61 cents, or 1.9%, to $33.24.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 7.67 points, or 1.3%, to 565.36.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative, with materials down 2.3%, gold dipping 2.1%, and information technology off 1.3%.
The four gainers were led by financials, up 0.6%, while communications each climbed 0.4%, and industrials up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks pulled back Wednesday, pressured by declines in Nvidia, as investors braced for the chipmaker’s latest earnings report.
The Dow Jones Industrials slipped 159.08 points to close business Wednesday at 41,091.42
The S&P 500 declined 33.6 points to 5,592.20.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ faded 189.79 points, or 1.1%, to 17,556.03.
Wall Street is keeping an eye on Nvidia to gauge the sustainability of the broader tech and artificial intelligence trade. The semiconductor giant — slated to report after the close — has surged more than 150% in 2024, raising questions of how much more room there is for the stock to run. On Wednesday, it fell nearly 2%.
Other technology stocks were also trading lower on Wednesday, including “Magnificent Seven” peers Amazon, Google and Microsoft.
Elsewhere, a regulatory filing showed that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sold shares of Bank of America once again. The conglomerate dumped more than 24 million shares for $981.9 million in earlier sessions.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury inched lower, raising yields back Tuesday’s 3.84%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sank 77 cents at $74.76 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $10.90 to $2,544.00.