Stocks withered just south of the breakeven point mid-day Wednesday as energy stocks tracked a jump in oil prices, while sentiment was boosted following a decision by the Bank of Canada to hold interest rates amid an ongoing election.
The TSX Composite descended 55.61 points, to greet noon at 20,751.02.
The Canadian dollar subtracted 0.29 cents to 78.79 cents U.S.
Tourmaline Oil moved ahead 46 cents, or 1.3%, to $36.34, while Pembina Pipeline climbed 59 cents, or 1.5%, to $39.60.
The Bank of Canada today held its target for the overnight rate at the effective lower bound of 0.25%, with the Bank Rate at 0.5% and the deposit rate at 0.25%.
Elsewhere, Western University’s IVEY School of Business reported its Purchasing Managers Index leaped to 66, towering over July’s 56.4, but down from the 67.8 reading in August 2020.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slumped 9.96 points to 903.53.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups had faded into the red by noon hour, with health-care down 2.2%, while information technology faded 0.9%, and materials hesitated 0.8%.
The four gainers were led by utilities, up 1.2%, consumer staples, up 0.7%, and real-estate, ahead 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
Equity markets prolonged their win streak by midday Wednesday, as investors reassess the economic growth outlook following a smooth ride in the market so far this year.
The Dow Jones Industrials slid 66.22 points to 35,033.78
The S&P 500 doffed 9.05 points to 4,510.98
The NASDAQ Composite plummeted from Tuesday’s all-time high, by 106.90 points, to 15,267.43.
The 30-stock average is in the red for its third trading day in a row. On Tuesday, the Dow fell more than 260 points, adding to Friday’s losses after a disappointing August jobs report. September’s outlook also remains clouded by the coronavirus delta variant.
Shares of Coinbase fell more than 3% after the cryptocurrency exchange revealed it received a notice of possible enforcement action from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Coupa Software fell 2% despite its better-than-expected quarterly financial results.
Many investors are bracing for volatility in September, one of the seasonally weakest months of the year. Price swings could make a comeback, especially with the S&P 500 up more than 20% this year without a single 5% pullback.
One of the catalysts for a selloff could be the Federal Reserve and the potential for it to pull back an unprecedented monetary stimulus to support the economy throughout the pandemic. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has indicated that the central bank is likely to begin withdrawing some of its easy-money policies before year-end, though he still sees interest rate hikes in the distance.
On Wednesday, the Labor Department released the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, which showed job openings rose to a record 10.9 million in July.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is set to publish its periodic “Beige Book” survey of activity across its 12 districts.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys gained, lowering yields to 1.35% from Tuesday’s 1.37%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices hiked 97 cents to $69.32 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped four dollars to $1,794.50 U.S. an ounce.
