Stocks tailed off a mite Wednesday in Canada, as American investors reacted to a weak jobs report.
The TSX Composite Index lost 97.64 points to conclude Wednesday at 26,329.
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.19 cents to 73.10 cents U.S.
In corporate news, Brookfield Asset Management plans to invest up to 95 billion Swedish crowns ($9.9 billion U.S.) to build a data centre for artificial intelligence in Sweden. Brookfield shares ditched 12 cents to $77.35.
Energy stocks took it on the chin, with Cenovus Energy ducking 88 cents, or 4.7%, to $17.76, while Vermilion Energy sank 34 cents, or 3.6%, to $9.13.
In utilities, Algonquin Power gave back 44 cents, or 5.2%, to $8.10, while Brookfield Renewable Partners shed $1.06, or 3.1%, to $32.71.
In consumer staples, Empire Company lost $1.65, or 3.1%, to $51.64, while George Weston forfeited $6.30, or 2.3%, to $269.53.
Materials tried to right the ship, with Ero Copper strengthening $1.65, or 8.2%, to $21.73, while Algoma Steel picked up 23 cents, or 3.3%, to $7.24.
In health-care, Tilray took hold of two cents, or 3.7%, to 56 cents, while Bausch Health Companies took on seven cents, or 1.1%, to $6.36.
In consumer discretionary stocks, Pet Valu climbed $1.11, or 3.6%, to $31.65, while BRP Inc. jumped $1.61, or 2.6%, to $63.72.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has set Wednesday as the deadline for trading partners to submit proposals for trade deals to avoid his “Liberation Day” tariffs from taking effect in early July.
Also on Wednesday, Washington doubled its tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, applying to all trading partners except Britain, which remains the only country to have struck a preliminary trade agreement.
The U.S. and China are also expected to talk sometime this week to iron out trade differences.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office said on Tuesday, the government is engaged in “intensive and live” negotiations to get exempted from newly announced additional U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, as well as other import duties imposed by the Trump administration.
The Bank of Canada held its key benchmark rate at 2.75% Wednesday, citing the need to probe the effects of U.S. trade policy, but said another cut might be necessary if the economy weakened in the face of tariffs.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange squeezed 2.2 points higher to 719.43.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower on the day, as energy went south 1.8%, while utilities and consumer staples each fell 0.9%.
The five gainers were led by materials, up 0.6%, while health-care plays were haler 0.5%, and consumer discretionary stocks gained 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 rose slightly on Wednesday, but gains were kept in check after private sector hiring hit its lowest level in more than two years, raising concerns trade policy uncertainty could be weighing on the U.S. economy.
The Dow Jones Industrials plunged 91.9 points to 42,427.74.
The S&P 500 index cleared breakeven but 0.44 points to 5,970.81
The NASDAQ Composite acquired 61.53 points to 19,460.49.
Wall Street is coming off a solid stretch with strong gains in tech stocks allowing investors to look past any worries about tariffs or the economy.
A report from payrolls processing firm ADP showed that payrolls increased only 37,000 for the month, less than the downwardly revised 60,000 in April and below the consensus forecast of 110,000 that economists polled by Dow Jones were expecting.
The report casts a pall over Friday’s all-important government nonfarm payrolls report, which economists currently expect to show an increase of 125,000 jobs for May, according to a Dow Jones survey.
President Donald Trump blasted Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell right after the ADP numbers came out, saying “Too Late Powell” should cut rates.
A federal court striking down Trump’s tariffs just last week added to hopes the market has priced in the worst of the tariffs, though they were later reinstated temporarily by an appeals court.
Trump posted earlier that dealing with Chinese President Xi Jinping has been “extremely hard.”
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 4.36% from Tuesday’s 4.45%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices skidded 60 cents to $62.81 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices regained $20.00 to $3,397.10 U.S. an ounce.
