Canada’s main stock index inched higher on Wednesday as gains for energy shares offset investor reluctance to make big bets ahead of the release of earnings from U.S. megacap Nvidia. U.S. stocks were mixed, also not straying far from recent levels.
AI chipmaker Nvidia fell 0.76% during the trading session ahead of its results. The stock fell about 2% further after the bell when its fourth-quarter revenue forecast was slightly above estimates, but failed to meet lofty expectations of some investors.
During regular trading, the index heavyweight dragged down the Information Technology sector 0.23% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 0.11%.
Nvidia shares have nearly tripled in value this year, accounting for about 20% of the S&P 500′s returns over the last 12 months, according to BofA Global Research.
“We’re starting to see commentary from larger companies that have been deploying capital in the AI, tech spend space talking about examples of how that spend is converting to either higher revenue or cost savings. That bodes well for companies like Nvidia that are on the picks and shovels side of that tech, AI spend trade,” said Bill Merz, head of Capital Markets Research for U.S. Bank’s asset management group.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended up 25.69 points, or 0.1%, at 25,036.46, stopping just short of the record closing high it notched last Thursday at 25,049.67.
The TSX energy sector added 1% even as oil settled 0.75% lower at US$68.87 a barrel. Consumer staples was another bright spot. It rose 0.6%, recouping some of the previous day’s decline.
In contrast, the consumer discretionary group lost 0.9%, with shares of retailer Dollarama falling 3.3% to hit a three-week low.
Stocks were under pressure early in the session, after a report said Ukraine fired long-range British Storm Shadow missiles into Russian territory. On Tuesday, Ukraine launched U.S.-made ATACMS missiles into Russia, and Russia announced it had lowered the threshold for nuclear action.
Wall Street’s “fear gauge” jumped to 18.79 before easing to 17.24, still at its highest since the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 139.53 points, or 0.32%, to 43,408.47, the S&P 500 gained 0.13 points, or 0.00%, to 5,917.11 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 21.32 points, or 0.11%, to 18,966.14.
Target plunged 21.4% after the retailer forecast holiday-quarter comparable sales and profit below Wall Street expectations following a third-quarter estimate miss.
The consumer discretionary index was the biggest sectoral decliner in the U.S., falling 0.57%.
Growth stocks like Tesla and Amazon.com also fell 1.15% and 0.85% respectively.
Cryptocurrency stocks ticked higher as bitcoin jumped above $94,000, with MicroStrategy soaring 10% and MARA Holdings up 13.9%.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.24-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 184 new highs and 94 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 2,007 stocks rose and 2,245 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.12-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 30 new 52-week highs and 13 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 92 new highs and 163 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 13.20 billion shares, compared with the 14.32 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
Reuters, Globe staff