Equities fell short Wednesday, as investors evaluated U.S. President Donald Trump's threat of tariffs on automobiles, semiconductors and pharmaceutical products.
The TSX Composite Index lost 22.68 points to greet Wednesday’s closing bell at 25,626.16.
The Canadian dollar erased 0.18 cents to 70.28 cents U.S.
Loblaw on Wednesday said it plans to invest $2.2 billion to renovate existing stores, open new ones and create about 8,000 jobs this year. Loblaw shares nosed ahead 20 cents to $179.28.
Hudbay Minerals slumped $1.67, or 13.1%, to $11.03, after the copper miner posted lower fourth-quarter profit.
Among other stars Wednesday, Gildan Activewear jumped $2.90, or 3.9%, to $76.60, while Canadian Tire shares perked $4.97, or 3.6%, to $144.97.
In the energy field, Nuvista hiked 43 cents, or 3.4%, to $12.90, whjle Parex Resources grabbed 43 cents, or 3%, to $15.02.
Communications rumbled as well, with Rogers hoisting 51 cents, or 1.3%, to $40.00, while BCE climbed 28 cents to $33.41.
Tech stocks went in the other direction, however, as BlackBerry sank 28 cents, or 3.4%, to $8.32, while Sangoma Technologies slid 28 cents, or 3.2%, to $8.52.
In financials, Trisura Group dipped $1.08, or 3%, to $34.62, while Intact Financial shed $9.76, or 3.4%, to $279.69.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 3.1 points to 638.80.
All but two of the 12 subgroups were higher to end the session, led by consumer discretionary, surging 1.1%, while energy hiked 0.8%, and telecoms tallied 0.6%.
Tech stocks faded 1.2%, while financials tailed off 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 climbed to a fresh record on Wednesday, as stocks remain resilient despite President Donald Trump’s threat of more tariffs and a continuously cautious Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrials regained strength, picking up 71.25 points to conclude Wednesday at 44,627.59
The much-broader index moved higher 14.57 points to 6,144.15
The tech-heavy NASDAQ advanced 14.99 points to 20,056.25
Shares of Microsoft gained 1% and led the broader technology sector higher after the company unveiled its first ever quantum computing chip. Nvidia added 1% while Tesla climbed more than 2%. Analog Devices stock surged nearly 10% after posting better-than-expected quarterly results on the top and bottom line.
The S&P 500 energy sector bucked the trend with a gain of 1.4%. The broad market index on Tuesday climbed to an all-time high, even as concerns around sticky inflation and President Donald Trump’s trade policies persist. The benchmark hit an intraday record of 6,129.63 and earned a record close at 6,129.58.
Trump Tuesday floated the notion of imposing a 25% tariff on imported autos, chips and pharmaceuticals. Trump did not specify whether or not the potential duties would be targeted or broad, but did say they could be implemented as soon as April 2.
Additionally, investors weighed the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting, which showed that central bank officials want to see more progress on inflation before cutting interest rates further, and also are concerned about the impact of Trump’s tariffs.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained more ground, lowering yields to 4.53% from Tuesday’s 4.55%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices progressed 46 cents to $72.31 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold squeezed higher by 60 cents an ounce to $2,949.60 U.S.
