Canadian stocks inch down as energy weighs

Canada's main stock market in Toronto ended Wednesday trading marginally lower, paring steeper losses after minutes of the latest U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting offered a balanced view on when it may hike U.S. interest rates.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index lost 5.84 point, or 0.04 percent, to close at 14,697.60 points. Three of the TSX index's eight main sub-sectors were lower.

Oil prices rallied for a fifth straight session Wednesday as official data showed U.S. crude stockpiles dropped last week.

The West Texas Intermediate for September delivery increased 0.21 U.S. dollar to settle at 46.79 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for October delivery gained 0.62 dollar to close at 49.85 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

Weighed by earlier fall of crude prices, TSX energy group inched down 0.61 percent, as major producer Suncor Energy fell 0.71 percent to 36.33 Canadian dollars (28.26 U.S. dollars) and pipeline company TransCanada Corporation slipped 0.44 percent to 61.10 Canadian dollars.

Among gold plays, Barrick Gold shed 2.23 percent to 26.78 Canadian dollars and Goldcorp Inc. lost 1.74 percent to 23.76 Canadian dollars.

Brookfield Asset Management fell 0.33 percent to 44.66 Canadian dollars. The company has signed a preliminary contract to buy a majority stake in water and sewage group Odebrecht Ambiental.

Health care stocks showed the most bounce on the day as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. advanced 12.64 percent to 38.51 Canadian dollars after Morgan Stanley raised its rating and price target on the stock.

Performance Sports Group Ltd. slumped 14.81 percent to 2.30 Canadian dollars after the sports equipment maker said it was facing an investigation by U.S. and Canadian securities regulators, two days after it said it was conducting an internal probe into its financials.

The Canadian dollar traded lower at 0.7778 U.S. dollar, compared with Tuesday's closing rate of 0.7780 U.S. dollar.

Source : XINHUA