The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX fell 18.21 points, or 0.11 percent, to 16,484.21.
Leading the index were OceanaGold Corp , up 10.4 percent, First Majestic Silver Corp , up 8.7 percent, and Pan American Silver Corp , higher by 6.7 percent.
Lagging shares were Precision Drilling Corp , down 4.9 percent, TFI International Inc, down 4.3 percent, and Nexgen Energy Ltd, lower by 4.0 percent.
On the TSX 110 issues rose and 127 fell as a 0.9-to-1 ratio favored decliners. There were 20 new highs and 4 new lows, with total volume of 165.5 million shares.
The most heavily traded shares by volume were Encana Corp , Enbridge Inc and Barrick Gold Corp.
The TSX’s energy group fell 1.82 points, or 1.3 percent, while the financials sector slipped 0.81 points, or 0.3 percent.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 1.84 percent, or $1.06, to $56.56 a barrel. Brent crude fell 1.17 percent, or $0.75, to $63.6.
The TSX is up 15.1 percent for the year.
Read more: Stocks that saw action Wednesday and why
Wall Street
U.S. stock indexes fell on Wednesday as weak results from CSX Corp stoked concerns that the protracted trade war between the United States and China could hurt corporate earnings.
CSX shares tumbled 10.3%, their biggest one-day drop since 2008, after the rail freight company posted lower-than-expected quarterly profit and cut its full-year revenue forecast. Ongoing trade tensions have contributed to a decline in truck and rail freight volumes in the first half of 2019.
CSX was one of the biggest drags on the S&P 500 index, along with Union Pacific Corp and Berkshire Hathaway Inc , which owns BNSF Railway. Union Pacific, whose shares dropped 6.1%, reports results on Thursday.
The losses in shares of rail companies helped push down the S&P 500 industrials index, whose 2.2% slide was the largest among the S&P’s 11 major sectors. The Dow Jones Transportation Average fell 3.6%.
The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, a compendium of anecdotes from U.S. businesses, also pointed to trade-related pressures on transportation and manufacturing companies.
“The trade concerns are such an uncertainty,” said Stephen Carl, principal and head of U.S. equity trading at the Williams Capital Group in New York. “It could be a huge negative impact. Costs are going to be coming from higher tariffs.”
But persistent trade-related concerns are a critical factor supporting expected interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve later this month, said Ed Campbell, portfolio manager and managing director at QMA in Newark, New Jersey. The anticipation of rate cuts has helped propel U.S. stocks to new highs in the past week.
“One of the things Trump is doing with trade is he’s using it as a cudgel against the Fed,” Campbell said. “The Fed is citing uncertainty relating to trade as a reason they’re open to cutting rates.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 115.78 points, or 0.42%, to 27,219.85, the S&P 500 lost 19.62 points, or 0.65%, to 2,984.42 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 37.59 points, or 0.46%, to 8,185.21.
Bank of America Corp rose 0.7% after posting a profit beat, though the company lowered its annual net interest income forecast.
Netflix Inc shares tumbled in aftermarket trade after the company reported quarterly results. They were last down nearly 11%.
Profit for S&P 500 companies is expected to rise 0.4% in the second quarter from a year ago, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Abbott Laboratories shares rose 3.1% after the medical device maker topped quarterly profit estimates and lifted its full-year adjusted earnings forecast.
Reuters