The Canadian stock market is adding to the losses of the previous session Wednesday. Every sector of the index is trading in the red. The largest declines are being turned in by mining, gold and energy stocks as commodity prices have come under pressure.
The Bank of Canada today announced today that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 0.75 percent. Economists expected the bank to retain benchmark rate unchanged at 0.75 percent, after a rate cut in January.
Markets in Europe are turning in a mixed performance Wednesday. Investors are playing it cautious ahead of the European Central Bank meeting in Cyprus on Thursday and the U.S. jobs report on Friday.
The U.S. markets are also under pressure Wednesday, after the ADP private sector employment report came in weaker than anticipated.
Payroll processor ADP released a report on Wednesday that once again showed solid private sector job growth above 200,000 jobs in the month of February, although the pace of growth saw a notable slowdown compared to the previous month.
ADP said private sector employment increased by 212,000 jobs in February compared to an upwardly revised jump of 250,000 jobs in January. Economists had expected an increase of about 220,000 jobs compared to the addition of 213,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
Activity in the U.S. service sector unexpectedly grew at a slightly faster rate in the month of February, according to a report released by the Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday.
The ISM said its non-manufacturing index inched up to 56.9 in February from 56.7 in January, with a reading above 50 indicating an expansion in service sector activity. The modest uptick by the index came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the index to edge down to 56.5.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is down 111.15 points or 0.73 percent at 15,022.70.
On Tuesday, the index closed down 130.20 points or 0.85 percent, at 15,133.85. The index scaled an intraday high of 15,258.04 and a low of 15,109.88.
The Diversified Metal and Mining Index is declining by 2.25 percent. First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) is down 1.36 percent and Finning International (FTT.TO) is losing 1.49 percent. Sherritt International (S.TO) is falling by 2.93 percent and Lundin Mining (LUN.TO) is lower by 2.32 percent. HudBay Minerals (HBM.TO) is also dropping 2.30 percent.
The Gold Index is falling by 1.35 percent . Gold prices have slipped beneath $1200 an ounce Wednesday morning after the release of somewhat disappointing news from the U.S. jobs front.
Goldcorp (G.TO) is declining by 1.30 percent and Barrick Gold (ABX.TO) is losing 1.67 percent. Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO) is dropping by 1.39 percent and Yamana Gold (YRI.TO) is down 0.39 percent. B2Gold (BTO.TO) is falling by 0.97 percent and Kinross Gold (K.TO) is decreasing by 1.16 percent. IAMGOLD (IMG.TO) is lower by 2.07 percent and Royal Gold (RGL.TO) is declining by 1.55 percent.
The Capped Materials Index is also losing 1.29 percent. Franco-Nevada (FNV.TO) is falling by 1.19 percent and Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) is lower by 2.07 percent. Silver Wheaton (SLW.TO) is declining by 0.80 percent and Agrium (AGU.TO) is down 0.81percent. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT.TO) is also lower by 0.99 percent.
The heavyweight Financial Index is decreasing by 0.67 percent. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) is losing 0.74 percent and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) is falling by 0.73 percent. Canadian Imperial Bank Of Commerce (CM.TO) is down 0.80 percent and Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) is lower by 0.55 percent. Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) is falling by 0.39 percent and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) is losing by 1.18 percent.
The Energy Index is falling by 1.51 percent. Crude oil prices rose for a second day despite a stronger U.S. dollar, as traders geared up for some closely watched inventories data.
U.S. crude stock piles have been growing at an astounding pace recently, and analysts expect a further build in inventories when the EIA releases its weekly figures.
Canadian Oil Sands (COS.TO) is decreasing by 3.02 percent and Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) is losing 0.79 percent. Suncor Energy (SU.TO) is down 1.38 percent and Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) is lower by 2.25 percent.
Pacific Rubiales (PRE.TO) is decreasing by 1.87 percent and Vermilion Energy (VET. TO) is falling by 0.95 percent. Bonterra Energy (BNE.TO) is declining by 1.70 percent.
The Capped Information Technology Index is losing 0.71 percent. Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) is falling by 0.62 percent and BlackBerry (BB.TO) is declining by 1.39 percent.
Aviglion (AVO.TO) is sinking by 12.30 percent. The company reported fourth quarter adjusted EPS of $0.25, compared to $0.19 in the prior year.
Torstar (TS-B.TO) is losing 3.07 percent. The company reported fourth quarter adjusted EPS of C$0.30, down from C$0.34 a year ago.
On the economic front, China's service sector expansion accelerated slightly in February, led by solid rise in new work, the results of a survey by Markit Economics and HSBC showed Wednesday. The services business activity index rose slightly to 52.0 in February from January's six- month low of 51.8.
The Eurozone private sector expanded in February albeit at a slower than initially estimated pace, survey data from Markit Economics showed Wednesday. The composite output index rose to 53.3 in February from 52.6 in January. The reading was slightly below the flash score of 53.5.
Eurozone retail sales growth accelerated unexpectedly in January on both food and non-food turnover, Eurostat reported Wednesday. Retail sales were up 1.1 percent on a monthly basis, faster than a revised 0.4 percent growth in December. The monthly growth rate was forecast to ease to 0.2 percent from December's originally estimated growth of 0.3 percent.
The U.K. service sector expansion slowed unexpectedly in February, survey data from Markit showed Wednesday. The Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Purchasing Managers' Index for the service sector decreased to 56.7 in February from 57.2 in January. The score was forecast to rise to 57.5. This marked the twenty-sixth month of expansion.
Shop prices in the United Kingdom declined at a faster rate in February, defying expectations for a slower drop, the British Retail Consortium said on Wednesday. Shop prices fell 1.7 percent year-over-year after the 1.3 percent drop in January. Economists expected a 1.2 percent drop.
In commodities, crude oil futures for March delivery are up $0.06 or 0.12 percent at $50.58 a barrel.
Natural gas for March is up $0.041 or 1.51 percent at $2.753 per million btu.
Gold futures for April are down $5.70 or 0.47 percent at $1,198.70 an ounce.
Silver for March is down $0.201 or 1.23 percent at $16.095 an ounce.
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