Stocks in Canada’s largest centre tried by noon EDT to make up for early losses, weighed by consumer and communications stocks, as markets absorbed actions taken (or not taken) by the Bank of Canada.
The TSX Composite index came off its lows of the morning, but remained in the red 48.6 points by noon to sit at 20,017.32
The Canadian dollar dumped 0.05 cents to 82.62 cents U.S.
Dollarama fell 18 cents to $54.09, after the company said its current-quarter earnings would take a hit from fresh COVID-19 restrictions in certain Canadian provinces.
TD Securities raised the target price on Advantage Oil & Gas to $3.25 from $2.50. Advantage shares climbed nine cents, or 1.9%, to $4.60.
TD Securities also raised the target price on Boardwalk REIT to $48.00 from $47.00. Boardwalk units slipped 47 cents, or 1.2%, to $39.90.
CIBC raised the rating on Canadian Western Bank to outperform from neutral. Western shares docked 72 cents, or 2%, to $35.11.
On the economic calendar, the Bank of Canada maintained interest rates at 0.25%, as expected, the same perch at which it’s been since March 2020. The Bank Rate stays at 0.5%, and the deposit rate at 0.25%.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, under pressure to lift COVID-19-related restrictions along the U.S. border, said on Tuesday that Ottawa would disclose in coming weeks how some measures could be relaxed for fully vaccinated people.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 1.86 points to 972.70.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups had fallen by lunch hour, with consumer staples down 1%, communications sliding 0.9% and financials off 0.7%.
The four gainers were led by health-care, sprinting 5.3%, gold, up 0.5%, and utilities, ahead 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 traded just under its all-time high on Wednesday as markets continued to trade in a tight range.
The Dow Jones Industrials crawled out of its pit to within 0.46 points of breakeven at 34,599.36.
The S&P 500 eked up 3.8 points to 4,231.06. The S&P 500 is now just 0.15% below its record high of 4,238.04 reached on May 7.
The NASDAQ acquired 24.1 points to 13,949.02.
Health care, communications and technology stocks led positive stocks shortly into the session, with drugmaker Merck up 1.8%, Twitter up 1.7% and Adobe up 1.5%. Fox Corp. was the best performer in the S&P 500 with an advance of 2.3%.
Meme stock mania continued Wednesday with day traders now focusing their attention on Clover Health. The stock was up another 12% following an 85% rally on Tuesday amid explosive trading volumes. Clean Energy Fuels rallied 30% Wednesday on no apparent news.
Investors await the next reading on inflation to gauge if higher price pressures are just temporary as the economy continues to rebound from the pandemic-induced recession.
The consumer price index for May is set to be released Thursday. Economists are expecting the CPI to rise 4.7% from a year earlier, according to Dow Jones. In April, the CPI increased 4.2% on an annual basis, the fastest rise since 2008.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys gained sharply, lowering yields to 1.50% from Tuesday’s 1.54%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices retreated 29 cents to $69.76 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices eked higher 0.5 to $1,894.90 U.S. an ounce.
