Canada's main stock index was flat on Wednesday, as gains in financial shares were offset by losses in the energy sector.
At 11:30 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite index was up 15.46 points, or 0.09 per cent, at 16,301.76.
The financial sector rose 0.64 per cent, while the energy group dropped 1.03 per cent.
The gains in financials were led by a 3.3-per-cent rise in shares of Thomson Reuters Corp., which reported a 2-per-cent rise in quarterly revenue.
Energy stocks were weighed down by falling oil prices on the back of slowing Chinese demand and an escalating trade spat between the United States and China.
Four of the index’s 11 major sectors were lower.
Magna International Inc. fell 7.7 per cent to become one of the top laggards on the TSX after lowering its full-year production forecast for North America.
Spin Master Corp. sat down 6.7 per cent after announcing a secondary offering.
U.S. stocks were slightly lower on Wednesday as a drop in crude oil prices pressured energy shares, offsetting gains in technology and bank stocks.
The S&P 500 index slipped after coming within spitting distance of a record high following a four-day rise. It is nearly half a percent away from the all-time high it hit on Jan. 26.
The energy sector dropped 0.79 per cent and weighed the most on the S&P index as crude oil prices fell more than 1.5 per cent on slowing Chinese demand and trade issues.
The industrial index fell 0.4 per cent as China’s latest tariffs dragged down shares of trade-sensitive stocks such as Boeing and Caterpillar.
“As the trade war expands investors are likely to become hesitant in terms of investing and that is creating a little bit of a pull-back,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
“Volume is light so we are not seeing much pressure on the downside since investors are not willing to step up to the plate at this time.”
The losses were capped by gains in technology shares, led by Google-parent Alphabet, Facebook and Microsoft .
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 18.18 points, or 0.07 per cent, at 25,610.73, the S&P 500 was up 1.31 points, or 0.05 per cent, at 2,859.76 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 8.71 points, or 0.11 per cent, at 7,892.37.
Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower.
Tesla was down 1.1 per cent. Shares of the electric car maker had closed up 11 per cent on Tuesday after Chief Executive Elon Musk said he was considering taking the company private.
Walt Disney fell 1.9 per cent and was the biggest decliner on the bluechip Dow after its quarterly profit missed estimates.
Mylan fell 2.8 per cent after the drugmaker said it was evaluating a wide range of options and reported a quarterly profit that missed estimates.
CVS Health rose 3.9 per cent after it beat analysts’ estimates for adjusted quarterly profit as it sold more prescription drugs at its stores.
With the second-quarter earnings season winding down, 79 per cent of S&P 500 companies have topped estimates. If the beat rate holds, it will be the highest on record, dating back to the first quarter of 1994, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Oil prices fell on Wednesday as a trade dispute between the United States and China escalated further and after Chinese import data showed a slowdown in demand.
Brent crude futures fell $1.88 to $72.77 a barrel, a 2.5-per-cent loss.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.85 to $67.32 a barrel, a 2.7-per-cent loss.
China is slapping additional tariffs of 25 per cent on $16-billion worth of U.S. imports, from fuel and steel products to autos and medical equipment, as the world’s largest economies escalated their trade dispute.
The trade spat has rattled global markets on fears it could lead to a slowdown of the world’s largest economies and result in lower demand for commodities.
China’s crude imports recovered slightly in July after falling for the previous two months, but were still among the lowest this year due to a dropoff in demand from the country’s smaller independent, or “teapot,” refineries.
Shipments into the world’s biggest importer of crude came in at 36.02 million tonnes last month, or 8.48 million barrels per day, rising from 8.18 million bpd a year earlier and just up on June’s 8.36 million bpd, customs data showed.
“Even before their implementation, these proposed (Chinese) tariffs are starting to have an impact, with Chinese imports of U.S. crude falling by 70 percent from April to July,” Goldman Sachs said in a note on Wednesday.
Reuters