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Jan. 27, 2010 (Baystreet.ca) --
After opening lower, Canadian stocks continued to linger in the red in mid-morning deals Wednesday. Selling pressure was seen across a variety of sectors, with the gauges of gold and diversified metals drifting lower.
As the clock approached noon, the S&P/TSX Composite Index gave back 30.54 points to 11,330.65.
The main index had managed to close just above the unchanged line in the past two sessions, despite dawdling in negative zone in the morning sessions.
Selling pressure was seen across a variety of sectors, with the gauges of gold and diversified metals drifting lower. The main index had managed to close just above the unchanged line in the past two sessions, despite dawdling in negative zone in the morning sessions.
Among diversified metal plays, Ivanhoe Mines lost 2.57% and Major Drilling shed 2.18%.
The Energy Index skidded as Baytex Energy trimmed 2.03% and Encana Corp. gave in 1.33%.
Among gold stocks, Rand Gold slipped 0.80% and Eldorado Gold lost 2.01%.
Barrick Gold moved down 0.89% after it said it will stop shipping ore from its Cortez mine in Niveda, till it gets environmental clearance from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
Yamana Gold shed 1.25% after RBC trimmed its price target on the stock to $14 from $15.
Canadian National Railway lost 0.79% after reporting fourth quarter net income of $1.23 per share, up from $1.21 per share in the year-ago quarter. Macquarie hiked its price target on the stock to $61 from $58.
Potash Corp eased 0.95%. BofA-Merrill reinstated the stock with a "buy" rating and a price target of $140. Fertilizer maker Agrium surrendered 0.84%.
On a positive note, information technology stocks continued their previous session's up move, as Celestica Inc. gathered 1.73%.
Information technology service provider CGI Group rose 1.09% after reporting first-quarter net income of $0.37 per share, up from $0.26 per share in the same quarter last year.
Heavy oil development and production company Ivanhoe Energy edged up 1.62% after it said it has raised $125 million through a private placement of Special Warrants.
Also, an upbeat comment by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the Canadian economy may help lift sentiment. The IMF has upped its growth forecast estimates on the Canadian economy to 2.6% from 2.1% for 2010, while maintaining that of 2011 at 3.6%.
The Canadian dollar staggered 0.52 cents to 93.76 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
All but four of the 14 TSX subgroups were lower at midday. Metals and mining stocks were off 3.2%, followed by global base metals, stuttering 1.5%, and materials down 1.4%.
Gainers were led by information technology, which climbed 0.6%, financials, up 0.4% and telecoms, ahead 0.3%.
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 16.63 points to 1,517.48, while the Nasdaq Canada index gained 0.94 points to 683.63.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks struggled for direction Wednesday morning as investors geared up for the release of the Federal Reserve's policy statement this afternoon and the President's State of the Union address this evening.
The Dow Jones Industrials was down 21.23 points by noon to 10,173.06. The S&P 500 declined 2.35 points to 1.089.82, and the Nasdaq moved slightly down, 0.72 points, to 2,203.01.
Stocks ended lower Tuesday as selloff in the financial sector cut into an earlier rally sparked by Apple's record quarterly results and a stronger reading on consumer confidence. Apple is expected to introduce its new Tablet computer later today.
Investors are on edge ahead of the Fed's policy statement, which is due out at 2:15 p.m. ET.
Central bankers are widely expected to leave rates unchanged at near zero, but investors will scrutinize the statement for any hints about when the Fed may start raising rates again and unwinding its economic support programs.
After the close Tuesday, Yahoo reported a quarterly profit that reversed a year-ago loss, as the online advertising market showed some signs of life. Results were better than expected. The Internet behemoth also reported weaker quarterly revenue that topped estimates. Shares gained 2.2% Wednesday morning
Economically speaking, the U.S. Commerce Department said new home sales unexpectedly fell in December. It said sales slipped 7.6% to an annual rate of 342,000 in December from an upwardly revised November rate of 370,000.
Economists were expecting sales to edge up to 366,000 from the 355,000 originally reported for the previous month.
Treasury prices were slightly higher, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 3.60% from Tuesday's 3.61%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil stepped forward eight cents to $74.79 U.S.
Gold prices dipped six dollars to $1,094 U.S.