Canada's benchmark stock index fell Wednesday for a second day as positive economic news out of the United States weighed on the price of gold.
On the Toronto Stock Exchange, the S&P/TSX composite posted a slight loss, down 6.32 points, or 0.05%, at 13,395.99. Six of the sub-indexes declined.
The price of crude oil gained US$0.92 to close at US$90.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. After a 3% drop on Tuesday, the price of gold fell another US$5.10 on Wednesday to close at US$1,373.70 an ounce.
"We saw a very strong job report out of the U.S. and that's really strengthening the U.S. dollar, and that's putting a lot of pressure on commodities today," Youssef Zohny, associate portfolio manager at Van Arbor Asset Management in Vancouver, told Reuters, pointing out gold and silver producers as risky for investors, as profit-taking turns into "something a little bit more." "It looks like commodities in general are undergoing a little bit of a correction here," Zohny said.
The Canadian dollar gained 21 basis points to close at US100.36¢, its fourth consecutive session with a close at or above par with its U.S. counterpart.
The junior Venture exchange dropped 12.64 points, or 0.56%, to 2,262.48.
Economic news on Wednesday was thin but positive, with Statistics Canada reporting that industrial product prices rose by 0.5% in November, beating estimates of 0.3%, and raw material prices were up by 3.5%, again beating forecasts of 2%. In the U.S., ADPEmployer Services reported on Wednesday that private sector payrolls increased by 297,000 in December, nearly three times what had been expected.
Also in the U.S. on Wednesday, the Institute for Supply Management reported its non-manufacturing index rose in December to 57.1, its highest level since 2006.
That news helped boost U.S. markets into positive positions. The Dow Jones industrial average closed Wednesday at 11,722.89, for a gain of 31.71 points, or 0.27%. The Nasdaq composite rose 20.95 points, or 0.78%, to 2,702.20.
Among the companies making significant moves on the S&P/TSX on Wednesday were Petrominerales Ltd., which gained 8.08% to $36.00 after announcing an exploration well in Colombia is producing 10,440 barrels a day. Nordion Inc. lost 9.26%, to $10.39, after it said it expects the profitability of its Molybdenum-99 business to decline. Barrick Gold Corp. fell 3.39% to $49.84 as the price of gold declined.
Research In Motion shares rose 4.54% to $61.70, and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan gained 3.53% to $161.50.
