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Cenovus Energy Inc. has lowered its 2015 capital budget to between $1.8 billion and $2 billion, which is about $700 million less than the previous estimate and more than 15 per cent below last year's spending levels. Cenovus chief executive Brian Ferguson says he believes crude oil prices will rebound, but the timing is uncertain. Ferguson is shown during the company's annual meeting in Calgary, Alberta on Wednesday, April 24, 2013.Larry MacDougal

The Toronto stock market was lower Wednesday as energy stocks retreated after a sharp runup in oil prices while financials declined ahead of earnings news from Canada's big banks next week.

The S&P/TSX composite index declined 90.75 points, or 0.59 per cent, to 15,193.86 while traders also awaited an official proposal from Greece to extend a bailout program that would keep the country solvent and within the euro currency bloc.

The Canadian dollar fell 0.41 of a U.S. cent to 80.4 cents.

U.S. indexes were lower ahead of the afternoon release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting held last month. Analysts say that a series of strong economic reports has made it difficult for the Fed not to raise rates from near zero, where they have been since the financial collapse of 2008, as early as June.

The Dow Jones industrials fell 41.68 points to 18,005.9, the Nasdaq shed 2.07 points to 4,897.2 and the S&P 500 index was down 5.04 points to 2,095.3.

The Greek plan would involve extending the 240-billion euro loan agreement that has kept the country afloat since 2010. However, it was unclear whether that would be acceptable to euro zone finance officials who will meet Thursday to discuss the request since the new government in Athens insists it will not accept any extension of previous bailout conditions.

"You can see Europe's stance – the Greeks have kind of come forward and basically dropped some of the structural reforms that they were going to make, including increasing pensions," said Michael Greenberg, portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton Solutions Group.

"If you're a European finance minister, where you're cutting pensions in your country, how do you possibly live with that? They'll get hanged if they go back (to their electorate)."

Greece's creditors in the 19-country euro zone had given Greece until the end of the week to request an extension of the bailout agreement. After that, emergency liquid assistance (ELA) from the European Central Bank will likely dry up.

The energy sector led decliners, down one per cent while oil prices declined with the March contract down 66 cents to $52.87 (U.S.) a barrel after three days of gains.

Cenovus Energy Inc. fell $1.20 to $22.09 (Canadian). It said Tuesday after markets closed that it's raising $1.5-billion through the sale of 67.5 million common shares priced at $22.25 each in a move aimed at shoring up its balance sheet in the face of plummeting oil prices.

Financials were down one per cent.

The metals and mining sector led advancers, up 2.4 per cent while March copper gained four cents to $2.62 (U.S.) a pound.

April gold faded $8.10 to $1,200.50 an ounce and the gold sector was up 0.55 per cent.

On the earnings front, Western Forest Products Inc. posted quarterly net income of $12.9-million (Canadian), or three cents a share, down from $49.9-million, or 13 cents a share a year ago. Revenue was $232.6-million, down from $242-million a year ago. Benefits from the weaker Canadian dollar, as well as gradual improvement in U.S. new home construction starts, were more than offset by a weak market in China for logs and commodity lumber, and reduced lumber demand from Japan and its shares fell 17 cents to $2.44.

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