Kraft has an extensive line of low-calorie, low-carb, high-fibre, or sugar-free products.HO/Reuters
North American stocks fluctuated as Kraft Foods Group Inc. jumped on merger news and data showed durable goods orders unexpectedly dropped.
The Toronto stock exchanged opened higher on Wednesday as a weaker U.S. dollar helped fuel gains in commodity prices, pushing up shares in the energy and gold-mining sectors.
In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index added 46.47 points to 15,127.73.
The Canadian dollar edged up 0.06 of a cent to 80.08 cents (U.S.).
On the commodity markets, the May crude oil contract reversed earlier losses and edged up 59 cents to US$48.10 a barrel while the April gold bullion contract gained strength, rising US$7.40 to US$1,198.80 an ounce.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 42 points to 17,969.14. The S&P 500 slipped 1.57 points to 2,089.93. The Nasdaq composite was down 27.98 points to 4,966.75.
Kraft Foods soared 33 per cent after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. teamed with 3G Capital to acquire the food company and merge it with ketchup maker H.J. Heinz. Kofax Ltd. soared 46 per cent after agreeing to be acquired by Lexmark International Inc.
"We're bouncing around, and that has more to do with sector rotation and asset allocation going into quarter-end than with any one number," said Michael Block, chief equity strategist at Rhino Trading Partners LLC in New York. "There's a lot of macro panic and confusion out there, and that's not the kind of landscape the Fed wants to start being hawkish with."
While the S&P 500 is among the worst-performing developed-market indexes this year, it is still headed for its ninth consecutive quarterly advance, with a 1.6 per cent increase. That would be the longest winning streak since 1998. The gains pushed equity valuations to the highest in about six years.
The S&P 500, the Dow and the Nasdaq composite index are within 1.5 per cent of their records amid speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve won't rush to raise rates.
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, who votes on policy this year, said in London Wednesday that inflation remains too low to justify an interest-rate increase in 2015, despite "terrific" progress in reducing U.S. unemployment.
Orders for durable goods unexpectedly dropped in February, a sign the slowdown in global growth may be weighing on American manufacturers.
Bookings for goods meant to last at least three years declined 1.4 per cent after a 2 per cent gain in January that was smaller than previously estimated, data from the Commerce Department showed Wednesday in Washington. The median forecast of 81 economists surveyed by Bloomberg estimated durable goods orders would rise 0.2 per cent.
A report on Friday will likely show the world's largest economy expanded at a rate of 2.4 per cent in the fourth quarter, economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecast, above the 2.2 per cent growth reported last month.
Analysts predict profit for S&P 500 members will drop in the next three quarters, hurt by worse-than-expected economic data, lower oil prices and a surge in the dollar. Annual earnings will probably gain 1.8 per cent in 2015, down from a January forecast for a 6.4 per cent jump.
With files from Reuters, The Canadian Press