Stocks in Toronto found their gains of the previous day were hard to hold onto Wednesday, as investors were also confronted with retail and housing figures.
The TSX Composite retreated 138 points to conclude Wednesday at 21,873.72.
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.23 cents at 72.97 cents U.S.
Industrials took a pounding, with Canadian Pacific plunging $7.54, or 6.3%, to $112.23, while Canadian National Railways sank $8.44, or 4.8%, to $168.35.
In communications, Rogers dipped $1.79, or 3.3%, to $52.30, while Cogeco Communications retreated $1.02, or 1.8%, to $54.74.
Tech issues also took their lumps, with HUT 8 Mining shares giving back 86 cents, or 6.5%, to $12.31, while Tecsys slumped $1.01, or 2.6%, to $37.46.
Gold and materials tried to lift the market out of its doldrums, with Seabridge Gold soaring 79 cents, or 4%, to $20.77, while New Gold seized a penny to $2.36.
Winpak hiked $3.06, or 7.2%, to $45.39, while Silvercrest Metals took on 51 cents, or 4.8%, to $11.20.
In consumer staples, Loblaw Companies spiked $1.94, or 1.3%, to $152.27, while Primo Water Companies gained 27 cents, or 1.1%, to $25.86.
The economic board consists Wednesday of retail trade for February, which decreased 0.1% to $66.7 billion, and the new housing price index was flat on a monthly basis during March, compared to a gain of 0.1% the month before. The index sank 0.4% last month on an annual basis, identical to March last year.
All data in Canada is on the radar after Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem's hinted in early April that the central bank would be open to a June cut if a cooling trend in inflation was sustained.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange subsided 1.14 points to 574.65.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided between gainers and losers. Industrials were battered 2.8%, while communications fell 1.4%, and information technology surrendered 0.8%.
The half-dozen gainers were led by gold, up 0.6%, while consumer staples surged 0.5%. and materials were better by 0.2%>
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 closed near its flatline Wednesday as interest rate fears dampened the enthusiasm stemming from a strong slate of corporate earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 42,77 points to end the day at 38,460.92.
The S&P 500 index edged ahead 1.08 points to 5,071.63.
The NASDAQ Composite recovered 16.11 points to 15,712.75.
Investors briefly pushed aside worries tied to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy moving forward following a slate of quarterly earnings.
Tesla climbed 12% after the company announced a renewed push into “more affordable” electric vehicle models. However, the megacap tech name and retail investor favorite missed expectations on both lines in the latest quarter. Boeing turned lower after initially popping on first-quarter results.
Still, corporate earnings have so far surpassed Wall Street estimates. More than 25% of the names in the S&P 500 have reported earnings thus far. Of those companies, 79% have beaten earnings forecasts.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sagged, lifting yields to 4.64% from Tuesday’s 4.60%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices deleted 44 cents to $82.92 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dulled $9.70 to $2,332.40 U.S. an ounce.
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