Stocks in Toronto endured a choppy day, with lots of ups and downs at any given time, mostly reflecting losses in energy and gold stocks.
The TSX Composite index faded away from Tuesday’s all-time high by 0.36 points to close the session Wednesday at 20,230.96.
The Canadian dollar blushed 0.52 cents to 81.54 cents U.S.
Financials led the charge, Home Capital Group hiking $1.03, or 2.9%, to $36.59, while ECN Capital moved ahead 22 cents, or 2.5%, to $9.16.
In tech stocks, Shopify jumped $61.66, or 3.8%, to $1,673.77, while Quarterhill Inc. advanced three cents, or 1.2%, to $2.55.
Real Estate also made gains, with units of Interrent Real Estate Investment Trust up 25 cents, or 1.5%, to $16.50, while Killam Apartment REIT took on 22 cents, or 1.1%, to $20.25.
Consumer discretionary stocks, however, moved in the opposite direction, with Linamar docking $2.30, or 2.9%, to $77.69, while Martinrea International fell back 36 cents, or 2.7%, to $13.22.
Gold took its lumps, too, as Iamgold fell seven cents, or 1.6%, to $4.39, while Kinross Gold got bruised 61 cents, or 6.5%, to $8.73.
In energy, PrairieSky Royalty slid 32 cents, or 2.2%, to $14.20, while Parex Resources tumbled 44 cents, or 2%, to $21.87.
The U.S. Transportation Department said on Tuesday it was seeking a $25.5-million fine from Air Canada over the carrier's failure to provide timely refunds requested by thousands of customers for flights to or from the United States.
Air Canada fell 18 cents to close at $28.07.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported sales by Canadian wholesalers rose 0.4% in April, the third increase in the last four months.
The nation’s number-crunchers say activity was mixed with continued increases in the building material and supply sub-sector.
The agency’s consumer price index rose 3.6% on a year-over-year basis in May, up from a 3.4% gain in April. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.4% in May.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 6.96 points to 962.26.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative on the day, with energy falling 1.2%, while gold and consumer discretionary each stumbling 0.9%.
The four gainers were led by financials, up 0.7%, information technology, brighter by 0.6%, and real-estate up 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks dropped on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised its inflation expectations and moved up the time frame on when it will hike interest rates next.
The Dow Jones Industrials hurtled earthward 265.66 points to greet the closing bell Wednesday at 34,033.67.
The S&P 500 demurred 22.89 points to 4,223.70. The broad equity benchmark dropped as much as 1% in volatile trading as all 11 sectors fell into the red at one point.
The NASDAQ faded 33.17 points to 14,039.68.
Economic reopening plays provided the broader market with some support. Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line both climbed about 2% after an upgrade from Wolfe Research. United Airlines and American Airlines also registered gains.
The policymaking Federal Open Market Committee indicated that rate hikes could come as soon as 2023, after signaling in March that it saw no increases until beyond that year.
he central bank gave no indication as to when it will begin cutting back on its aggressive bond-buying program, which also helped bolster markets. The Fed has been buying $120 billion worth of bonds each month as the economy continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys were emphatically higher, lowering yields to 1.57% from Tuesday’s 1.50%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost 26 cents to $71.86 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gave back $25.90 to $1,830.50U.S. an ounce.
