The Toronto stock market closed slightly lower Wednesday as energy stocks retreated further along with crude oil prices, but losses were limited by gains in the beaten-down metals and mining sector.
New York markets put in a positive finish to the session as oil prices closed at a 19-month low and blue chips handed in positive news.
Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index drifted 10.44 points lower to 12,457.55.
The energy sector drifted 1.35 per cent lower with the February contract for light sweet crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange down $1.62 (U.S.) to $54.02 a barrel.
The decline in crude prices accelerated after the U.S. Department of Energy reported a drop in inventory of five million barrels of crude last week. But gasoline and distillate supplies - including heating oil - headed higher. Oil prices have fallen 11.5 per cent since the start of the year partly on a wave of mild weather in North America and Europe.
Petro-Canada declined $1.21 (Canadian) to $43.03 while in New York, shares in Chevron retreated $1.22 (U.S.) to $69.41 after it said falling commodity stocks will impact profits.
Declines also extended past the resource sector as the financial sector was also a weight, down 0.5 per cent with Royal Bank off 40 cents (Canadian) to $53.53.
The TSX has only had two positive sessions so far this year, largely because of dropping commodity prices.
"I think we're borrowing from the good performance of 2006. The last couple of months have been very strong - November, December I think we're paying for some of that excess," said Ian Nakamoto, director of research at MacDougall, MacDougall and MacTier.
"I don't see the fundamentals changing that month."
The Canadian dollar was unchanged at 85.02 U.S. cents.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported the merchandise trade surplus with the world widened to $4.7 billion from $3.8 billion in October and exports rose 2.8 per cent.
The agency also reported that building permits in November rose $200 million from October to $6.3 billion - a record monthly high.
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 33.46 points to 2,766.45.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrials were up 25.56 points to 12,442.16.
The Nasdaq composite rose 15.5 points to 2,459.33 and the S&P 500 index moved up 2.74 points to 1,414.85.
Investors also took in major developments in the merger and acquisition area.
Shares in Onex Corp. were 10 cents higher to $28.39 after the conglomerate announced it is paying $2.8 billion for the health group of Eastman Kodak Co..
Film and TV company Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. has confirmed it's in exclusive talks with CanWest Global Communications Corp. and Goldman Sachs Capital about a possible sale. Alliance shares climbed six cents to $53.56.
Shares in CanWest Global Communications fell 41 cents to $9.99 after reporting first-quarter profit more than doubled to $66 million, from a year-earlier $30 million. But the report missed analyst expectations by a penny a share.
Investors were pleased with Alcoa after the company beat expectations in reporting its fourth-quarter profit rose almost 60 per cent on a 20 per cent jump in revenue. Alcoa shares advanced $1.71 (U.S.) to $30.23.
And Sears Holdings Corp. shares were $5.86 higher to $172.09 after the retailer said Wednesday that same-store sales dropped in November and December, but expected fourth-quarter and full-year profit to rise sharply from a year earlier.
On the TSX, the gold sector also pressured the market, down 1.6 per cent as the February bullion contract declined $1.60 to $613.40. Kinross Gold Corp. fell 22 cents (Canadian) to $13.22.
The metals and mining sector, which has also been punished in recent days on falling commodities, was the biggest percentage advancer, up 3.4 per cent. The March copper contract in New York ran up 10.8 cents (U.S.) to $2.664 a pound. Teck Cominco Ltd. gained $2.55 (Canadian) to $79.90.
Shares in Anvil Mining Ltd. were $1.40 higher to $12.10 after the Montreal company said it is paying $45 (U.S.) million in cash and stock for an additional 15-per-cent interest in mining rights for the Kinsevere-Nambulwa copper-cobalt deposits in the Democratic Republic of Congo, raising its stake to 95 per cent
The information-technology sector was up 1.7 per cent. Research In Motion Ltd. gained $4.86 (Canadian) to $158.87, a day after its shares fell nearly eight per cent on investor reaction to a new potential threat to its BlackBerry products from a new "smart" phone announced by Apple.
On the TSX, declines narrowly beat advances 788 to 781 with 242 unchanged; 323.6 million shares traded worth $5.6 billion.
In other news:
- Apple, which announced plans to change its name to Apple Inc. as it continues its move beyond computers, rose $4.56 (U.S.) to $97.13. The stock hit an all-time high of $97.80 after unveiling its iPhone.
- Shares in Inex Pharmaceuticals Corp. jumped 12.9 per cent to 70 cents (Canadian) after Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. signed a deal with the firm for a worldwide licence covering lipid-based drug delivery technology.
- Specialty TV and radio company Corus Entertainment Inc. said its first-quarter profit rose to $36.7 million from a year-earlier $31.4 million on strong revenue growth in broadcasting. Its shares gained 39 cents to $44.81.
- Shares in WestJet Airlines dropped 23 cents to $14.62 after the carrier said it could face a $30-million writeoff if it cannot come to terms with the developer of the AiRES reservation system. WestJet has suspended its current AiRES contract with developer Travelport to negotiate an amendment to the contract.