Stocks in Toronto could not hold gains they’d enjoyed in the morning, as resource losses weighed on the index.
The TSX Composite Index dwindled 58.68 points by Wednesday’s close to 29,756.95.
The Canadian dollar faded 0.32 cents to 71.94 cents U.S.
Lithium Americas popped after Reuters reported that the Trump administration is seeking an equity stake of as much as 10% in Lithium Americas, boosting the Canadian company's shares by $4.13, or 97.9%, to $8.35.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said he had "constructive" trade talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang with both countries seeking to discuss trade conflicts.
Canada has imposed tariffs on imports of China-made electric vehicles and steel and aluminum since last year, with Beijing retaliating with levies on Canadian canola imports.
Separately, Carney said trade negotiations with the U.S. were ongoing, with remaining issues to move to a forthcoming review of the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.
Meanwhile, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem expressed concern on Tuesday about U.S. President Donald Trump's pressure tactics on the U.S. Federal Reserve.
In company news, Manulife Financial Corp's wealth and asset management arm said it had signed an agreement to buy U.K. asset manager Schroders' business in Indonesia.
Manulife shares struggled up three cents to $43.05.
Bank of Montreal launched a process to sell some of its U.S. branches with about $6 billion in deposits, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. BMO traded down $2.32, or 1.3%, by the close to $178.45.
Energy stocks led sectoral gains, as Vermilion Energy climbed 32 cents, or 2.9%, to $11.48.
Materials stocks rose as First Quantum jumped 95 cents, or 3.4%, to $28.78, while Teck Resources climbed $2.20, or 4.1%, to $55.64.
Hudbay Minerals said the temporary shutdown at its Peru mill would not affect its ability to meet 2025 production and cost forecast range, sending its shares up $1.07, or 5.8%, to $19.66.
Technology shares recovered from a dip in the previous session. Open Text Corp sprang up $1.68, or 3.3%, to $53.60, and Constellation Software rose $137.61, or 3.4%, to $4,137.62, while BlackBerry gained four cents to $5.93 ahead of quarterly results.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange edged up 2.27 points to 915.12.
Eight of the 12 subgroups slumped by the final bell, with gold tumbling 2.2%, while real-estate
off 0.9%, and materials, falling 0.8%.
The four gainers were led by energy, up 1.3%, health-care ahead 0.8%, and utilities, better by 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 fell on Wednesday as artificial intelligence giants Nvidia and Oracle came under pressure for a second day.
The Dow Jones Industrials dived 171.5 points to end Wednesday at 46,121.28.
The much-broader index dropped 18.95 points to 6,637.97.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ tumbled 75.62 points to 22,497.86
Nvidia slid almost 1%, continuing its declines from Tuesday as heightened fears about the potentially circular nature of the AI industry drew investor skepticism. Earlier this week, the chipmaker announced a $100-billion partnership with OpenAI. Fellow leading AI player Oracle also fell for a second straight day, losing nearly 2% Wednesday.
The NASDAQ’s losses for the day were narrowed heading into the close as Intel surged more than 6% after Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the chipmaker is seeking an investment from Apple. That comes just days after Nvidia said it would invest $5 billion in the company.
Beyond those names, shares of Micron Technology moved lower by almost 3% as the company’s earnings and forecast weren’t strong enough to impress investors, signaling that confidence in the AI trade is still in question.
Fellow leading AI player Oracle also fell for a second straight day, losing 4% Wednesday.
Beyond the two names, shares of Micron Technology moved lower by 2% as the company’s earnings and forecast weren’t strong enough to impress investors, signaling that confidence in the AI trade is still in question.
Prices for 10-year Treasury sagged Wednesday, lowering yields to 4.15% from Tuesday’s 4.11%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices progressed $1.40 to $64.81 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid $51.70 to $3,777.200 U.S. an ounce.
