Equities in Canada’s largest centre cleared breakeven, however narrowly, as resource gains surmounted losses in tech issues.
The TSX Composite Index inched forward 8.79 points to end Wednesday at 16,427.18
The Canadian dollar waned 0.01 cents to 75.75 cents U.S.
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Aritzia, which jumped $2.63, or 16.3%, to $18.79, after the company reported higher quarterly revenue.
Gold stocks led the charge upward, with OceanaGold taking on eight cents, or 2.7% to $3.08, while Barrick Gold heightened 31 cents, or 1.4%, to $22.30.
Other big winners in other resource stocks, First Majestic Silver climbed 93 cents, or 7.7%, to $13.06, while Interfor gained 87 cents, or 6.6%, to $14.07.
Among communications stocks, Rogers jumped $1.35, or 2.1%, to $65.38, while Cogeco Communications grabbed a dollar per share to $110.42.
Tech stocks, however, took a pounding Wednesday, as Shopify was bruised $29.40, or 6.4%, to $427.51, while BlackBerry faded 17 cents, or 2.5%, to $6.75.
Also waning were health-care stocks, as Aphria dropped 74 cents, or 10.3%, to $6.43, while Aurora Cannabis dipped 20 cents, or 4%, to $4.77.
In the energy sector, Enerplus sank 28 cents, or 3.2%, to $8.56, while Pason Systems faltered 37 cents, or 2.9%, to $15.03.
On matters macroeconomic, Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index rose 1.9% on a year-over-year basis in September, matching the increase in August. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI fell 0.1% in September.
The agency also reported that foreign investors acquired $5.0 billion of Canadian securities in August, following two months of divestment. At the same time, Canadian investors reduced their holdings of foreign securities by $4.7 billion, the largest divestment since January
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 2.14 points to 539.05
The 12 Toronto subgroups were evenly split, as gold picked up 0.8%, while and materials and communications each gained 0.6%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by information technology, sinking 2.1%, while health-care stocks ailed 0.6%, while energy sank 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell slightly on Wednesday as weak retail sales data, coupled with persisting trade-war fears, offset strong earnings results.
The Dow Jones Industrials let go of 22.82 points to reach Wednesday’s closing bell at 27,001.98
The S&P 500 remained negative 5.99 points to 2,989.69.
The NASDAQ Composite slipped 24.52 points to 8,124.18
Bank of America reported Wednesday better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the third quarter, sending its stock up more than 1.5%. The company’s consumer and banking businesses helped offset slumping trading revenues.
United Airlines, meanwhile, rose more than 2% on earnings that topped analyst expectations. The airline also raised its full-year earnings guidance.
Netflix rose around 1% after the close on stronger-than-expected earnings for the third quarter. The streamer’s stock is down more than 20% in the past three months as competitors including Apple and Disney near the launches of their own streaming platforms, which many analysts warn could hamper Netflix’s subscriber growth.
So far, the corporate earnings season is off to a blistering start. Of the S&P 500 companies that have reported through Wednesday morning, 83% have topped analyst expectations.
Retail sales unexpectedly dropped 0.3% in September, marking their first decline in seven months. Spending cutbacks on motor vehicles and online purchases, among other factors, weighed down retail sales.
Officials and diplomats said that differences over the terms of the U.K.’s split from the European Union had narrowed significantly on Tuesday. A crucial two-day summit of E.U. leaders begins in Brussels on Thursday. It is the last such meeting currently scheduled before the fast-approaching Brexit deadline.
The world’s fifth-largest economy is due to leave the E.U. on October 31 and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly insisted he will not request another delay.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose slightly, lowering yields to 1.75% from Tuesday’s 1.77%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained 50 cents to $53.31 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $10.30 to $1,493.80 U.S. an ounce.
