Equities in Canada’s largest market were fairly flat as gains in technology stocks were countered by losses in consumer discretionary shares, while investors looked for clues on monetary policy outlook in the United States.
The TSX Composite Index docked 9.29 points to begin Wednesday at 23,942.93, after four straight gaining sessions.
The Canadian dollar sank 0.13 cents to 74.38 cents U.S.
In corporate news, Middlefield Global Real Asset Fund said its unitholders approved its merger with mutual fund Real Estate Split Corp. Units of Middlefield closed Tuesday at $7.76.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange subtracted 0.05 points to 597.06.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups slumped in the first hour, with consumer discretionary stocks dipping 0.9%, energy down 0.5%, and communications off 0.4%.
The five gainers were led by gold, brighter by 0.7%, materials, up 0.5%, and information technology inching ahead 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were little changed on Wednesday as Wall Street tried to extend its September gains.
The Dow Jones Industrials slid 150.24 points to 42,057.98
The S&P 500 index eked higher 3.58 points to 5,736.51.
The NASDAQ Composite gained 72.82 points to 18,147.34.
Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise advanced more than 5% following an upgrade from Barclays, citing strong artificial data center demand as a positive catalyst. Stock in German software company SAP slipped more than 2% after news that the firm was being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice. General Motors stock pulled back nearly 6% after a downgrade from Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas.
All three averages are on track for a positive September, though fears of a slowing economy still linger after last week’s rate cut from the Federal Reserve.
On the data front, new home sales slipped 4.7% in August to 716,000, down from July’s revised reading of 751,000. Investors will also look toward weekly jobless claims on Thursday.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury dropped, lifting yields to 3.78% from Tuesday’s 3.73%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sank 92 cents at $70.64 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices skyrocketed $10.60 to $2,687.60 U.S. an ounce
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