Global stocks were mixed on Wednesday as investors calculated the effects of the U.S. extension of tax cuts for the wealthy and speculated that China will raise interest rates shortly.
The Dow Jones industrial average inched up 3.97 points to 11363.13 and the broader S&P 500 rose 2.13 points to 1225.88.In Toronto, the S&P/TSX lost 60.6 points to 13190.07, led by gold and silver producers. Shares of Goldcorp lost more than 2 per cent. Silver Wheaton shares fell almost 3 per cent.
Manulife Financial's stock gained 4 per cent in heavy trading. Ivanhoe Mines tumbled 13 per cent after it agreed to give Rio Tinto Group the right to boost its stake to 49 per cent, essentially removing the Vancouver company from the mining industry's acquisitions list.
European bourses were mostly up, with the exception of London and Germany. Asian exchanges were mixed, with Japan's Nikkei 225 closing up nearly 1 per cent and China's Hang Seng index down more than 1 per cent.
The price of oil slipped 60 cents to $88.09 (U.S.) a barrel after the U.S. Energy Department reported unexpected increases in inventories of fuel and traders speculated that China will raise interest rates on the weekend in an attempt to cool the economy.
Gold fell $27.20 an ounce to $1,381.80, after hitting a new high on Tuesday of $1,432.50, as investors took profits and added more risk to portfolios.
The 10-year Treasury note yield advanced 15 basis points, or 0.15 percentage point, to 3.27 per cent., representing the highest level since June 21. It has increased 35 basis points over two days, the most since Sept. 19, 2008, when Treasuries fluctuated following the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Bloomberg reported.
The Canadian dollar was trading at 98.84 cents U.S.