Baystreet.ca - Canada's main stock index was subdued at the open on Wednesday, with investors assessing U.S. jobs data and a report saying President-elect Donald Trump was mulling declaring a national economic emergency to allow for new tariffs.
The TSX dipped 21.48 points to begin the mid-week session at 24,908.41.
The Canadian dollar was down 0.17 at 69.44 cents U.S.
In corporate news, Calibre Mining (TSX:CXB) announced fourth-quarter gold production figures. Calibre shot higher 17 cents, or 7.7%, to $2.38.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange retreated 5.01 points to 607.90.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower in the first hour, with health-care falling 1.8%, while real-estate and communications each dipped 1.1%.
The four gainers were led by gold, shining 1.1% brighter, materials, up 0.5%, and information technology, better by 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks moved lower Wednesday following a sharp decline in Big Tech names during the previous session, as renewed fears over the path of interest rate cuts spurred a selloff.
The Dow Jones Industrials shed 169.31 points to 42,359.05.
The S&P 500 lost 18.33 points to 5,890.70.
The NASDAQ Composite wilted 55.86 points to 19,433.82. Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR), one of the biggest gainers in the S&P 500 last year rising more than 340%, was down for a third straight day, losing more than 1.3%.
Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) shed 4% after a downgrade by HSBC.
Data released Wednesday morning showed private sector job creation in December eased more than expected, while wages grew at the slowest pace since July 2021, according to payment processing firm ADP (NASDAQ:ADP). Investors are now turning to minutes from the Fed’s December meeting are slated for release at 2 p.m. ET.
Sentiment was also dampened after reports President-elect Donald Trump is considering declaring a national economic emergency to push through new tariffs.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were unchanged, keeping yields at Tuesday’s 4.69%.
Oil prices lost one cent to $74.24 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold moved ahead $15.60 an ounce to $2,681 U.S.