TORONTO - The Toronto stock market broke a four-session winning streak Wednesday, pressured by bank stocks while gold stocks fell as bullion backed off from the US$1,000 an ounce level.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 105.13 points at 11,000.17, more than wiping out a 88-point gain Tuesday that took the TSX to its highest close this year.
The financial sector lost 1.73 per cent, continuing a deterioration in the sector since the major banks reported earnings last month.
"I think what you're seeing basically is just general profit-taking from some of these financials," said Eric Brass, equity analyst at MFC Global Investment Management.
"Some of these stocks are up over 100 per cent since their lows, so I think people are just taking their money off the table to a degree."
Scotiabank (TSX:BNS) lost 96 cents to $43.87 while TD Bank (TSX:TD) gave back 83 cents to $66.55.
The TSX gold sector was off 2.94 per cent as the December bullion contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost early gains to close down $2.70 to US$997.10 an ounce after going as high as US$1,005. Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) faded $1.68 to $42.61.
Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) shares fell $2.74 to $39.71 after it announced it would issue US$3.5 billion in new shares to fund a decision to eliminate all of its gold hedges. The company said it made the decision because of an increasingly positive outlook on the gold price.
The Canadian dollar moved lower following three days of gains which pushed the loonie more than two U.S. cents higher, moving down 0.13 of a cent to 92.51 cents U.S.
The latest move up comes a day before the Bank of Canada makes its scheduled announcement on interest rates.
The central bank is widely expected to leave rates unchanged at 0.25 per cent, but is expected to address the sharply appreciating currency, following up previous comments that the high loonie could derail an economic recovery.
The TSX Venture Exchange declined 5.41 points to 1,235.65.
Industrial companies such as Boeing and General Electric helped send New York markets higher as the Dow Jones industrial average moved up 49.88 points to 9,547.22.
The Nasdaq composite index was ahead 22.62 points to 2,060.39 while the S&P 500 index rose 7.98 points to 1,033.37.
There was some positive news from the Federal Reserve's latest survey of U.S. economic conditions. The so-called Beige Book finds the vast majority of the country reporting economic activity is stabilizing or improving, as the worst recession since the 1930s appears to be over.
In the new survey, all but one of the Fed's 12 regions indicated that economic activity was "stable," showed "signs of stabilization" or had "firmed."
On the economic calendar, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said the annual rate of housing starts increased to 150,400 units in August from 134,200 in July. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says there were improvements in both the single- and multiple-housing segments.
The TSX energy sector was ahead 0.71 per cent as a weak American dollar continued to send commodity prices higher.
The October crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 21 cents to US$71.31 a barrel after charging ahead just over US$3 on Tuesday. EnCana Corp. (TSX:ECA) gained 86 cents to $57.84.
Oil traders are closely watching an OPEC meeting in Vienna, although oil ministers have repeatedly said the producer group is unlikely to change its production levels.
December copper dropped 3.2 cents at US$2.924 a pound and the base metals sector was up 1.02 per cent with Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.B) ahead 48 cents to $28.02.
Inmet Mining Corp. (TSX:IMN) shares slipped 64 cents to $54.85 as it denied a report in a Korean newspaper that Korea Resources Corp. is planning to buy a stake in the Canadian company.
Elsewhere in the sector, shares in London-based Katanga Mining Ltd. (TSX:KAT) surged 21 cents or 27.27 per cent to 98 cents after it said it plans to accelerate the ramp-up of its copper-cobalt project in the Democratic Republic of Congo because of the recovery in prices.
In other corporate news, Viterra Inc. (TSX:VT) shares climbed nine cents to $9.26 as Canada's largest grain handling company came a step closer to finalizing a C$1.4-billion takeover of Australia's ABB Grain (ASX:ABB). ABB Grain's shareholders have voted in favour of Viterra's acquisition with 60.45 per cent of the shareholders with 83.57 per cent of shares supporting the transaction.
WestJet Airlines Ltd. (TSX:WJA) said Wednesday it has signed a deal with a syndicate of underwriters to issue 13.4 million common and variable voting shares at $11.20 per share to raise $150 million. Its shares were halted late in the session at $11.70, down 30 cents from Tuesday.
