Equities in Toronto fell on Wednesday, weighed down by an earnings miss from Bank of Montreal. Investors assessed the latest monetary policy clues from the country's central bank.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index plummeted 134.03 points, to greet noon at 15,342.91
The Canadian dollar shot higher 0.39 cents to 74.37 cents U.S.
Gold stocks took a drubbing as Kinross Gold went south 13 cents, or 2.3%, to $5.51, while Barrick Gold lost 15 cents to $22.05.
Materials also suffered, as Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan slid 39 cents, or 1.7%, to $22.17, while First Quantum Minerals dipped 38 cents, or 3.2%, to $11.63.
Bank of Montreal fell $2.95, or 3.1%, to $92.18, after reporting profits which were slightly below expectations, hit by a decline in income in the United States.
BMO was the first of Canada's big banks to report quarterly earnings, with Royal Bank of Canada, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Toronto-Dominion Bank all due to report on Thursday.
Home Capital Group lost 18 cents, or 2%, to $9.06 after saying late on Tuesday that said it had drawn down an additional $250 million from a high-interest credit line.
On the economic calendar, the Bank of Canada is maintaining its target for the overnight interest rate at 0.5%. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 0.75% and the deposit rate is 0.25%
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved lower 2.36 points to 801.31
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups had sunk by noon, as gold and materials each surrendered 1.2%, while financials tailed off 1%.
The two gainers were real-estate and utilities, each squeezing up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities traded higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrial average erasing losses from its biggest sell-off of the year.
The Dow gained 18.16 points to 20,956.07, trading near its May 16 close of 20,979.75.
The S&P 500 moved higher 1.22 points to 2,399.14, wiping out losses from last Wednesday. The index shed 1.6% that day, amid fears that the Trump agenda might be in danger.
The NASDAQ recovered 8.15 points to 6,146.76
Retail capped gains in the S&P, however, as Tiffany, Signet Jewelers, Advanced Auto Parts and Lowe's were among the worst performers in the index.
But the release of the Federal Reserve minutes at 2 p.m. ET could lead to some market turbulence. Investors were eager to receive more clues about its plans for monetary policy.
In other economic news, total mortgage application volume increased 4.4% last week on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous week thanks largely to re-financings. More housing data will be released at 10 a.m., when existing home sales numbers come out.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note were unchanged, keeping yields at Tuesday’s 2.29%.
Oil prices were flat at $51.47 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices dropped $3.60 at $1,251.90 U.S. an ounce.
