Stocks Take Pasting at Closing Bell

Equities in Canada’s largest centre fell back Wednesday, with losses in the energy and financial fields preying on the markets.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 83.27 points to end Wednesday at 16,586.13

The Canadian dollar docked 0.32 cents at 74.14 cents U.S.

Among gold issues, Barrick Gold gained eight cents to $17.29, while Kinross Gold picked up 11 cents, or 2.6%, to $4.36.

In the health-care sector, Aurora Cannabis advanced 10 cents to $12.27, while Canopy Growth climbed $1.71, or 2.7%, to $65.27.

Industrials strengthened, too, as Canadian Pacific Railway jumped $7.14, or 2.4%, to $302.14, while Bombardier added seven cents, or 2.5%, to $2.91.

Energy stocks took a pasting, as Imperial Oil docked 53 cents, or 1.3%, to $39.88, while Vermilion Energy backtracked 79 cents, or 2.5%, to $35.87.

Financials also headed south, as Bank of Montreal lost 24 cents to $105.39, while Royal Bank ditched $2.34, or 2.2%, to $105.51.

In consumer staples, Saputo fell 35 cents to $45.28, while Metro surrendered 65 cents, or 1.3%, to $48.82.

On the economic ledger, the Bank of Canada did as expected and left rates alone. The central bank maintained its target for the overnight rate at 1.75%. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 2% and the deposit rate is 1.5%

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 0.02 points to 608.46

Still, seven of the 12 Toronto subgroups finished positive, with gold shining 1.4% brighter, health-care climbing 1%, and industrials, up 0.6%.

The five laggards were weighed most by energy, losing 2.2%, financials, off 0.8%, and consumer staples, declining 0.7%.

ON WALLSTREET

Stocks slipped from record levels on Wednesday as Wall Street digested a mixed batch of corporate earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 56.76 points to 26,599.63

The S&P 500 slid 6.43 points to 2,927.25, as the energy and communication sectors underperformed.

The NASDAQ Composite docked 18.81 from Tuesday’s record close, to 8,102.02

Caterpillar shares fell 3% despite the company posting better-than-expected quarterly earnings. The industrial giant’s CFO warned of a possible slowdown in its China business, overshadowing Caterpillar’s strong report.

AT&T, meanwhile, fell more than 4% after posting first-quarter revenue numbers that disappointed investors. The company’s revenue was dragged down by weak sales in its WarnerMedia division.

Domino’s Pizza, meanwhile, rose 4.9% on stronger-than-forecast quarterly results. Shares of eBay also gained 5% on earnings that topped expectations.

Facebook and Microsoft were among the companies set to report later on Wednesday, while Amazon is scheduled to release its results on Thursday.

Nearly 130 S&P 500 companies have reported calendar first-quarter earnings so far. Of those companies, 78% have reported better-than-forecast profits

Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury sprang upward, lowering yields to 2.52% from Tuesday’s 2.57%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices slid 56 cents to $65.74 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices gained $4.80 to $1,278.00 U.S. an ounce.