On a day when BP PLC cancelled its dividend, U.S. home construction in May fell far short of expectations and FedEx Corp. lowered its earnings expectations, it is curious that stocks ended Wednesday relatively unchanged.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 10,409.46, up 4.69 points, or less than 0.1 per cent. The broader S&P 500 closed at 1114.61, down 0.62 point, or less than 0.1 per cent. In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index closed at 11,921.05, up 13.51 points, or 0.1 per cent.
BP rose 1.4 per cent in New York after the embattled oil producer agreed to set aside $20-billion (U.S.) for claims associated with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and announced that it would cancel dividend payments for the rest of 2010.
However, the company maintained that its financial health was fine, with cash flow of $30-billion a year, relatively low debt levels and a plan to conduct asset sales totalling about $10-billion.
Meanwhile, FedEx Corp. fell nearly 6 per cent after the global shipping company forecast earnings for the current quarter at the low end of analysts' expectations.
In Canada, Magna International Inc. fell 5.5 per cent a day after the Ontario Securities Commission argued that the deal to buy out Frank Stronach's multiple voting shares should be blocked because shareholders have insufficient information about the deal, which has been widely criticized for its price tag.
Energy stocks were mixed after the price of crude oil continued its rebound, rising to 77.67 a barrel, up 73 cents - its highest level in more than a month. Suncor Energy Inc. rose 1.1 per cent, but Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. fell 0.3 per cent.