Stocks Down Sharply by Noon

Equities in Canada’s main marketplace edged lower midday Wednesday, dragged by losses in energy shares and utilities, while investors assessed the developments around a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.The TSX Composite Index tumbled 142.53 points to move into Wednesday afternoon at 26,576.09 The Canadian dollar dipped 0.12 cents to 72.73 cents U.S. The ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump between Iran and Israel appeared to be holding on Wednesday. However, doubts continued to linger about whether the truce can hold.On Wednesday, during the NATO summit in The Hague, Trump said he now expects a relationship with Tehran that would preclude rebuilding its nuclear program.Mining shares were flat. NovaGold Resources nicked up three cents to $6.67, and Aya Gold & Silver fell 33 cents, or 2.6% to $12.22, as gold prices edged lower.On the other hand, tech shares tanked, most notably Alimentation Couche-Tard, down $1.26, or 1.8%, to $69.56. ON BAYSTREET The TSX Venture Exchange eked up 1.32 points by noon Wednesday to 713.84. Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups slid, most notably consumer staples, down 1.5%, while utilities stumbled 1%, and real-estate lost 0.8%.The four gainers were led by gold, better by 0.7%, health-care, haler by 0.4%, and materials, stronger 0.3%. ON WALLSTREET The S&P 500 was little changed on Wednesday as investors watched to see if the benchmark index could return to its all-time high.The Dow Jones Industrials skidded 91.03 points midday Monday at 42,997.99.The much-broader index fell 0.45 points to 6,091.63.The NASDAQ Composite was stronger by 37.26 points to 19,949.79.Shares of artificial intelligence darling Nvidia added 3% and was less than 1% off of its record high. Google-parent company Alphabet and chipmaker AMD gained 2% and 3%.Week to date, the S&P 500 is up more than 2% after a tamer-than-expected Iranian response to U.S. attacks over the weekend. The following ceasefire — announced by President Donald Trump — also boosted equities, as investors breathed a sigh of relief that the conflict wouldn’t disrupt global crude supply.The 10-year Treasury yield climbed 1.9 basis points to 4.312%. The 30-year yield was last 2.6 basis points higher at 4.856%.Oil prices gained $8.90 to $65.97 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices gained $18.70 to $3,404.40 U.S. an ounce.