The markets today
Toronto’s main stock market and the Canadian dollar closed slightly lower Wednesday as investors again watched for signs of progress following a resumption of NAFTA talks by Canada and the United States.
The political issue of trade again took centre stage, said Allan Small, senior investment adviser with HollisWealth.
“A lot is hanging on these talks and what they can accomplish and I think the market right now is basically taking a wait-and-see approach,” he said.
While consumer spending remains strong, corporations are waiting for a decision on NAFTA before making spending decisions, Small added.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 23.73 points to 16,137.57, after reaching a low of 16,032.96 on 219.6 million shares traded. That follows a 108.67-point decline on Friday and a 101.58 point drop on Tuesday.
About half of the sectors closed up, led by consumer staples and telecom services. Loblaw Companies Ltd. rose 4.57 per cent to $69.27 a day after the supermarket chain announced it will spin out its real estate investment trust to focus solely on its grocery and pharmacy business.
The information technology sector lost almost two per cent as Blackberry Ltd.’s stock fell more than six per cent to $13.15 after Facebook filed a patent infringement lawsuit in U.S. court.
The health-care sector had a down day as cannabis stocks lost some ground.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 22.51 points to 25,974.99. The S&P 500 index was down 8.12 points to 2,888.60, while the Nasdaq composite was down 96.07 points at 7,995.17.
Stocks of some of the world’s largest tech names fell as their executives defended their companies in congressional hearings. Twitter’s CEO and Facebook’s No. 2 testified about ways they are trying to root out foreign interference ahead of the midterm elections.
The Canadian dollar closed down slightly to 75.84 cents US compared with an average of 75.86 cents US on Tuesday. The loonie barely budged after the Bank of Canada decided not to raise its interest rate but signalled another hike could come in October to keep inflation in check.
The October crude contract was down $1.15 at US$68.72 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down 2.8 cents at US$2.80 per mmBTU. The December gold contract was up US$2.20 at US$1,201.30 an ounce.