MONEY IN BRIEF

Currencies

These are indicative wholesale rates for foreign currency provided by the Bank of Canada on Wednesday. Quotations in Canadian funds. Australia dollar Brazil real China renminbi Euro Hong Kong dollar India rupee Indonesia rupiah Japan yen Malaysia ringgit Mexico peso N.Z. dollar Norway krone Peruvian new sol

Russia rouble

Saudi riyal Singapore dollar

South Africa rand

South Korean won Sweden krona Switzerland franc Taiwanese dollar Thailand baht Turkey lira U.K. pound U.S. dollar

Vietnam dong 0.9896 0.3867 0.2049 1.5924 0.1644 0.01980 0.000094 0.01212 0.3339 0.07048 0.9329 0.1645 0.3997 0.02235 0.3440 0.9848 0.10970 0.001212 0.1550 1.3513 0.04424 0.04125 0.3222 1.8196 1.2902 0.000057

Financial highlights

Highlights at the close Wednesday at world financial market trading.

Stocks:

S&P/TSX Composite Index – 15,169.94, down 46.24 points Dow – 23,848.42, down 9.29 points

S&P 500 – 2,605.00, down 7.62 points

Nasdaq – 6,949.23, down 59.58 points

Currencies:

Cdn – 77.51 cents US, down 0.20 of a cent

Pound – C$1.8196, down 0.07 of a cent

Euro – C$1.5924, down 0.33 of a cent

Euro – US$1.2342, down 0.58 of a cent

Oil futures:

US$64.38, down 87 cents (May contract)

Gold futures:

US$1,330.00 per oz., down $17.90

(June contract)

Canadian Fine Silver Handy and Harman:

$21.928 oz., down 23.9 cents $704.99 kg., down $7.68

The markets today

Canada’s main stock index closed down Wednesday as commodity prices slipped, while increased scrutiny on U.S. technology stocks helped push U.S. markets down.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 46.24 points to 15,169.94. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 9.29 points to 23,848.42. The S&P 500 index closed down 7.62 points to 2,605.00 and the Nasdaq composite index was down 59.58 points to 6,949.23.

The declines included losses from major U.S. tech stocks, with Amazon falling on reports U.S. President Donald Trump is looking to go after the company and Tesla declining on a downgraded credit rating and more concerns over its self-driving vehicles, following recent declines at Facebook and Twitter.

The decline in stocks was felt in Canada as well, where BlackBerry Ltd. beat analyst expectations with US$233 million of revenue for the last quarter but slipped 1.38 per cent to $15.76 on the TSX.

The Canadian dollar closed at 77.51, down 0.2 of a US cent. The May crude contract ended down 87 cents to US$64.38 per barrel.

The June gold contract closed down US$17.90 to US$1,330.00 an ounce and the May copper contract was even at US$3 a pound.