TSX Barely Holds onto Gains

Equities in Canada’s largest centre struggled to retain gains garnered during much of Wednesday’s session, as resources and tech issues fended off losses by health-care.

The TSX Composite squeezed out gains of 13.18 points to close Wednesday at 21,656.05.

The Canadian dollar gained 0.24 cents at 72.60 cents U.S.

Gold stocks showed one of the few bright spots, with Iamgold forging ahead 14 cents, or 2.9%, to $5.04, while Sandstorm Gold strengthened 18 cents, or 2.5%, to $7.43.

In tech stocks, Bitfarms acquired nine cents, or 3.8%, to $2.46, while HUT 8 Mining picked up 31 cents, or 3.1%, to $10.32.

In materials, Lundin Mining prospered 40 cents, or 2.6%, to $15.63, while Algoma Steel Holdings surged 24 cents, or 2.3%, to $10.79.

Health-care stocks, as mentioned, got pummeled, as Tilray faltered 18 cents, or 7.1%, to $2.37, while Bausch Health Companies sank 11 cents to $11.96.

Real-estate issues subsided, Granite REIT sinking $3.13, or 4.3%, to $69.13, while Allied Properties REIT handed back 45 cents, or 2.7%, to $16.53.

In industrial concerns, Russel Metals doffed $1.40, or 3.4%, to $39.33, while TFI International stumbled $14.62, or 6.9%, to $199.09.

On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported Canadian investors acquired $24.2 billion of foreign securities in February, led by an all-time high investment in foreign bonds. Meanwhile, foreign investors reduced their exposure to Canadian securities by $8.8 billion, led by a record divestment in government short-term debt securities.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange skidded 0.73 points to 571.84.

The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided between those going higher and lower Wednesday, with gold improving 1%, information technology up 0.8%, and materials stronger 0.7%.

The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by health-care, shedding 1.9%, real-estate, sliding 1%, and industrials, off 0.8%.

ON WALLSTREET

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The S&P 500 dropped for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, as Nvidia and other struggling technology names put downward pressure on the market.

The Dow Jones Industrials fell short of breakeven 45.66 points to end the session at 37,753.31. With the retreat, it was the Dow’s seventh negative day of the last eight.

The much-broader index faded 29.2 points to 5,022.21.

The NASDAQ sank 181.88 points, or 1.2%, to 15,683.37.

Wednesday marks the third straight session when stocks opened higher but faded as the day wore on. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite both notched four-day losing streaks, the longest for each since periods ending in early January.

Stocks felt pressure in afternoon trading as artificial intelligence darling Nvidia swung to losses. The mega-cap technology stock fell nearly 4%, joining fellow big tech names including Netflix, Meta, Apple and Microsoft in the red. Tech was the worst-performing S&P 500 sector, falling 1.7%.

Notably, United Airlines surged more than 17% after posting a narrower-than-expected loss and beating on revenue. On the other hand, J.B. Hunt Transport Services dropped more than 8% after missing analysts’ expectations on the top and bottom lines.

That performance comes amid a bout of weakness that has marked a reprieve from the strong gains seen in the first quarter and in 2023. The Dow has slid more than 5% in April, while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite have tumbled more than 4%.

The new earnings season is off to a promising start. While less than 10% of S&P 500-listed companies have reported financials so far, more than three out of every four have surpassed Wall Street expectations.

Prices for the 10-year Treasury hiked, dropping yields to 4.58% from Tuesday’s 4.66%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices declined $2.59 to $82.77 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices floundered $19.20, to $2,388.60 U.S. an ounce.