Source: The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market was sharply lower Wednesday and the American dollar gained strength on worry that markets have been counting on more stimulus from the Federal Reserve than the U.S. central bank actually plans on implementing.

The S&P/TSX composite index lost 117.43 points to 12,567.25, led by falling commodity stocks as the higher greenback pushed oil and metal prices lower, while the TSX Venture Exchange edged down 0.04 of a point to 1,908.03.

The Canadian dollar also moved lower, down 0.43 of a cent to 97.21 cents US.

Many traders had been predicting the Fed would buy between US$500 billion and US$1 trillion in Treasurys to drive interest rates lower and boost lending and spending. Expectations for another round of quantitative easing had been priced into the market in recent weeks, driving indexes sharply higher since the end of August.

But worries about Fed stimulus surfaced following a report in the Wall Street Journal that said the Fed’s bond purchases might amount to just a few hundred billion dollars over several months, which would fall short of those expectations.

“I guess people are confused,” said Irwin Michael, president of I.A. Michael Investment Counsel Ltd. and manager of three ABC funds.

“We’re going day-to-day with economic news, some good some bad, and I think we have to wait and see what, in fact, the Fed will do as opposed to giving a hypothesis of what people think. A lot of shadow boxing going on right now and it’s creating incredible volatility.”

The Federal Reserve is due to decide on the new economic stimulus measures next week.

Commodity prices moved lower as the greenback gained momentum against other major currencies on doubts about the size of the Fed’s stimulus package. There have been worries that a large measure of quantitative easing would drive the value of the dollar lower.

The base metals sector led decliners, down 2% as copper prices moved sharply lower. The December contract in New York was down nine cents at US$3.78 a pound. Profit-taking was also likely responsible for some of the drop as copper prices earlier reached a 27-month high of US$3.90 a pound.

Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.B) declined 62 cents to C$45.31. The company reported Tuesday that it earned $355 million in its latest quarter as revenue increased by nearly 20%, helped by higher coal and base metals prices.

Lundin Mining (TSX:LUN) lost 46 cents to $6.31 after the company lowered its 2010 targets for copper and nickel production due to problems at two operations in Portugal and Spain.

The industrials sector was also down 2% despite improved earnings from the two big railways.

Canadian Pacific Railway’s (TSX:CP) third-quarter revenues were up 15% over last year to $1.28 billion. On an adjusted basis, earnings in the most recent quarter rose 27% to $204.7 million, or $1.21 per share. Analysts were expecting adjusted earnings of $1.15 per share on average, according to Thomson Reuters. Its shares slipped $1.39 to $65.64.

On Tuesday, Canadian National Railway (TSX:CNR) said its quarterly profits surged nearly 21% thanks to rising revenue. CN said it earned $556 million, or $1.19 per share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $461 million, or 97 cents per share, a year ago. CN shares fell $2.35 to $66.13.

The December crude contract on the New York Mercantile exchange fell 61 cents to US$81.94 a barrel, taking the energy sector down 1.13%. Suncor Energy (TSX:SU) slipped 80 cents to C$32.55 and Cenovus Energy (TSX:CVE) dropped 36 cents to $29.09.

Gold stocks also fell back with the December gold contract in New York down $16 to US$1,322.60 an ounce. Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) lost 85 cents to C$46.94 and Kinross Gold. (TSX:K) backed away 47 cents to $17.61.

Financials were also a major weight, with Royal Bank (TSX:RY) down 74 cents at $54.92, while CIBC (TSX:CM) lost 88 cents to $76.49.

A major advancer was Research In Motion Ltd. (TSX:RIM), up $1.22 at $57.39.

RIM stock has surged about 14% this week following Monday’s launch of an Adobe software developer kit that can create applications for its PlayBook tablet, putting to rest worries that RIM might delay the product until the middle of next year. And on Wednesday, RIM introduced the BlackBerry Bold 9780 smartphone.

New York markets were mainly lower, further depressed by a report from the U.S. Commerce Department that orders for durable goods rose 3.3% last month. Overall, it was the best showing since January. But excluding transportation, orders fell 0.8% after having risen 1.9% in August.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 43.18 points to 11,126.28.

Tech stocks recovered late in the day and the Nasdaq composite index moved 5.97 points higher to 2,503.26, while the S&P 500 index was down 3.19 points at 1,182.45.

In other earnings news, Sherritt International Corp. (TSX:S) said prices for its nickel, cobalt, coal and oil all improved in the third quarter compared with a year earlier, helping to boost revenues by 13% to $440.5 million. Net income for the Toronto-based resource company was $57.6 million, or 20 cents per share, up from $55.9 million or 19 cents per share a year earlier. Its shares gained five cents to $7.92.

TMX Group Inc. (TSX:X), owner of Canada’s major stock exchanges, said a resurgence in trading activity in some areas and lower expenses helped drive profits to $50.8 million, or 68 cents a share, compared with $41.7 million a year ago. TMX shares were up 62 cents at $34.18.

In the U.S., Procter & Gamble Co. said its first-quarter net income fell 7% to US$3.08 billion, or US$1.02 a share, after the sale of its prescription drug business. Revenue rose nearly 2% to $20.1 billion. Analysts had expected earnings of $1 per share on revenue of US$20.2 billion and its shares gained 22 cents to US$63.08.