North American stocks fell at the start of trading on Wednesday, following a weak report on U.S. durable goods orders for June and an ongoing impasse in negotiations to extend the U.S. debt ceiling.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 82 points or 0.7 per cent, to 12,419. The broader S&P 500 fell 11 points or 0.8 per cent, to 1321. In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index fell 80 points or 0.6 per cent, to 13,220.
Technology stocks were hit particularly hard, with Cisco Systems Inc. down 2.5 per cent, Hewlett-Packard Co. down 1.9 per cent and Microsoft Corp. down 0.8 per cent. Canada's Research In Motion Ltd. fell 4.5 per cent.
Bank stocks were also weak, with Bank of America Corp. down 1.2 per cent and JPMorgan Chase & Co. down 1.3 per cent.
However, Amazon.com Inc. rose 6 per cent following its upbeat quarterly financial report. Moody's Corp. opened higher but slumped 3.7 per cent soon after trading began. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. rose 1.7 per cent after reporting lower second quarter earnings due to flooding.
Gold rose to $1,623 (U.S.) an ounce, up $6.50, reflecting the economic uncertainty emanating from the United States. Barrick Gold Corp. rose 0.5 per cent.
David Berman