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Investors brace for Fed, stocks slide(Baystreet Stock Market Update (Canada) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Energy stocks sink again Equity markets in Toronto fell on Wednesday as investors anxiously awaited release of a U.S. Federal Reserve policy statement at the conclusion of a two-day Fed meeting later in the day. The S&P/TSX composite index fell 58.23 points to greet noon at 15,452.31 The Canadian dollar gained 0.19 cents to 91.33 cents U.S. Shares of energy producers gave back ground, reflecting weakness in the price of U.S. crude oil. Suncor Energy lost 0.5% to $43.24 and Canadian Natural Resources shed 0.4% to $45.54. The materials sector, which includes mining stocks, declined with commodity prices showing choppiness. Goldcorp fell 0.8% to $27.55 and Potash Corp was down 0.4% at $38.50. Recent Canadian economic data has been encouraging, particularly on exports, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said on Tuesday, but he pointed to a substantial amount of slack in the job market. ON BAYSTREET The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 2.26 points to 977.38. All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower by midday, with energy stocks dipping 1.1%, global base metals off 0.9%, and gold down 0.7% The two gainers were real-estate, inching up 0.3%, while consumer staples advancing 0.2%. ON WALLSTREET The U.S. stock market moved higher on Wednesday, building on the biggest one-day gain in four weeks during the previous session and sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to intraday record high. The Dow Jones Industrials tacked on 10.33 points to 17,142.30. The S&P 500 added 0.47 points to 1,999.45. The NASDAQ improved 6.12 points to 4,558.88 Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. soared 42%, after news late Tuesday that Endo International PLC will buy it for $28.10 U.S. per share in a cash-and-stock deal. Endo was up 5%. Lennar Corp. rose 4.8% after posting a 47% rise in third-quarter profit on Wednesday as higher prices and deliveries drove up revenue. General Mills Inc. fell 2% after posting a disappointing quarterly profit. DuPont shares rose 3.8% after an investor urged a breakup of the company. FedEx Corp. rose 3.7% after posting better-than-expected profit and sales. U.S. Steel Corp. was up 10% after the company said it was making major strategic changes late Tuesday. Adobe Systems Inc. fell 3%. The software maker posted quarterly results on Tuesday. Rackspace Hosting Inc. tumbled 15% after the cloud-computing company said it won't be selling itself. Worries about the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee meeting conclusions have coloured much of the market action in the past few days. However, earlier sentiment on Wednesday was lifted by People's Bank of China's most recent steps to inject billions into its banking system in order to boost flagging growth. In economic news, U.S. consumer prices fell in August for the first time in 16 months, largely because of a decline in the cost of filling up at the gas station. Separately, the U.S. current account deficit fell to $98.5 billion U.S. in the second quarter from a revised $102.2 billion U.S. in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. A gauge of confidence among home builders rose in September to the highest level since November 2005, according to National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo data released Wednesday. But the main attraction on Wednesday is the FOMC statement, due at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, which will be followed by a news conference with Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained slightly, lowering yields to 2.57% from Tuesday's 2.59%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Oil prices slid 68 cents to $94.20 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices dipped 90 cents to $1,235.80 U.S. an ounce. © 1998 - 2014 Baystreet.ca Media Corp. All rights reserved. |