Yahoo Finance 
Stocks Flatten Out by Noon
Canada's main stock index dipped below the breakeven mark on Wednesday, weighed by losses in the telecom and energy sectors.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 6.45 points to greet noon Wednesday at 15,640.69
The Canadian dollar was unchanged at 77.17 cents U.S.
Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals jumped 4.1% to $21.72 after Health Canada approved its drug for plaque psoriasis.
The financials group, which accounts for about a third of the index, rose with gains in Royal Bank of Canada, which climbed 0.6% to $102.44, while Bank of Nova Scotia was up 0.5% at $81.70.
Suncor Energy was one of the biggest drags on the index after the company said its Syncrude oil sands project in northern Alberta would run at reduced rates in the first quarter due to maintenance. Suncor was down 0.6% at $42.03.
Teck Resources rose 1.8% to $35.59 after India's Steel Minister said state-owned Steel Authority of India was in talks with Teck for long-term purchase agreements.
The U.S. Commerce Department said on Tuesday it had made a preliminary finding that some imports from Canada of uncoated groundwood paper used
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 1.24 points to 827.81
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly split, as consumer staples gathered 0.5%, gold brightened 0.4%, and information technology, up 0.3%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed down most by telecoms, subsiding 0.7%, energy, 0.3% less energetic, and consumer discretionaries, folding 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones industrial average fell Wednesday as Boeing shares pulled back on worries the U.S. could engage China in a trade war.
The blue chips plummeted 250.34 points, or 1%, to 24,756.69, after opening up more than 100 points. Boeing dropped more than 4%, contributing the most to the Dow's decline.
Boeing's decline comes after a report said President Donald Trump wishes to slap $60 billion of tariffs on Chinese goods. Investors feared China could target the aerospace giant in retaliation.
The S&P 500 sank 12.2 points to 2,753.11, amid weak performances in materials, industrials and consumer staples companies.
The NASDAQ composite Index dropped 15.07 points to 7,495.94, as Apple pulled back 0.9%.
In corporate news, Ford Motor Company's stock rallied more than 3% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the company to overweight from underweight. The bank sees more potential in the American motor vehicle company following "significant changes" to senior management at the company and its efforts to improve its global portfolio.
Shares of Qualcomm fell more than 1% after Broadcom announced that it is formally ending its hostile bid for the American chipmaker. Qualcomm stock fell nearly 5% Tuesday after Trump ordered Broadcom to abandon the deal.
In economic data, U.S. wholesale inflation increased slightly more than expected in February. The U.S. Department of Labor said on Wednesday that its producer price index rose 0.2% last month; economists had expected PPI gaining 0.1%.
So-called core PPI — which excludes volatile food, energy and trade service prices — rose 0.4%.
The Commerce Department said retail sales declined for a third straight month on Wednesday as households curbed purchases of cars and other expensive items. Economists had been expecting sales to rise 0.3%.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note inched forward, lowering yields to 2.81% from Tuesday’s 2.84%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid 22 cents a barrel to $60.49 U.S.
Gold prices settled $1.70 to $1,325.40 U.S. an ounce.
