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U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Wednesday as President Donald Trump's shock move to fire FBI Director James Comey limited risk appetite just days after the centrist win in the French presidential election helped restore a degree of calm. In a letter, Trump cited the need to restore "public trust and confidence" in law enforcement. The firing also came as Mr. Comey led a probe into collusion between Mr. Trump's election campaign and Russia.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 64.66 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 20,911.12. The S&P 500 lost 2.37 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 2,394.55. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.17 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 6,119.42.

"It's not every day that the US president fires the head of the FBI, so some of what we are seeing could be concerns about the political situation in the U.S.," IG's Chris Beauchamp said in a morning note.

On this side of the border,

In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index gained 30.53 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 15,599.73.  It was led higher by health care and materials stocks as commodity prices gained.

Factoring into the day's trading will be Sun Life Financial Inc.'s earnings miss. After Tuesday's close, the insurer reported adjusted earnings of 93 cents, short of the Streets forecast of 99 cents. Sun Life's dividend increase was also shy of analysts' expectations. Oil prices, meanwhile, edged higher early on expectations of a pullback in U.S. inventories. As well, B.C.'s hard-fought provincial election saw the governing Liberals cut to a minority government, the first elected in the province since 1952.

Overseas, European shares slipped from 21-month highs. Above-forecast earnings have helped lift markets across the globe and volatility has fallen to lowest levels in decades. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.2 per cent, led down by construction and materials stocks, having hit its highest since August, 2015, on Tuesday. London's FTSE 100 was up 0.6 per cent, Germany's DAX was down 0.16 per cent, and the Paris CAC 40 edged up 0.03 per cent

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei gained 0.3 per cent to a 17-month high, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.5 per cent, while the Shanghai composite lost 0.9 per cent. South Korean stocks led losers as investors took profits after liberal leader Moon Jae-in was elected president.

Commodities

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude extended gains after new figures showed a bigger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude inventories. Energy Information Administration figures showed crude inventories fell by 5.2 million barrels last week, more than double the decline the market had been forecasting. The latest figures underscore a report earlier in the week from the American Petroleum Institute, which also a surprisingly big decline in U.S. crude stocks. The impact of those two reports was further bolstered by signals from OPEC that efforts will continue to rebalance the market. Benchmark Brent and West Texas Intermediate were both up more than 2 per cent by midmorning.

A Reuters report that Saudi Arabia would cut crude supplies to Asia also helped lift crude prices.

State-owned Saudi Aramco will reduce oil supplies to Asian customers by about 7 million barrels in June, a source told the news agency, as part of OPEC's agreement to reduce production.

Seven million barrels is roughly two days of oil imports into Japan, the world's fourth biggest importer, Reuters noted. Aramco had previously maintained supplies to important Asian customers.

Elsewhere, gold prices pulled back from Tuesday's eight-week high as the U.S. dollar slipped on news of Mr. Comey's ouster. The likelihood of further rate hikes by the Federal Reserve this year helped cap declines. Spot gold and U.S. gold futures were up in early trading. Among other precious metals, silver was flat after sliding to its weakest since early January. Platinum was up marginally.

Copper prices neared four-month lows on concerns about weak demand in China.

Currencies and bonds

The Canadian dollar built on early gains to breach 73 cents (U.S.) as oil advanced and the greenback slipped. The day's range so far was 72.82 cents (U.S.) and 73.09 cents. RBC Capital Markets cited lingering weakness in crude prices and widening Canada-U.S. interest rate spreads as factors for the currency's continuing weakness. The outcome of the B.C. election may also give traders pause as they weigh trade implications, particularly what the shift to a Liberal minority could mean in the face of building rhetoric with the United States.

The U.S. dollar slid as Mr. Comey's dismissal fuelled political uncertainty. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, slipped 0.2 per cent to 99.415 , moving away from Tuesday's three-week high of 99.688.

"The Comey news is being treated as a risk-off event, and the headlines were sparking the dollar's move down," Bart Wakabayashi, branch manager for State Street Bank and Trust in Tokyo, told Reuters.

The euro, meanwhile, was up modestly against both the yen and the U.S. dollar.

In bonds, Greek government borrowing costs hit their lowest level in over five years on Wednesday as Athens looks set to clinch vital bailout loans from its international lenders. The yield on a 10-year Greek bond -- an indication of the cost for the government to raise long-term cash in financial markets -- hit its lowest level since the country's debt was restructured in March 2012, according to Tradeweb data.

U.S. Treasury yields reduced their earlier fall on Wednesday as new figures showed import and export prices in April rose more than analysts expected, suggesting overall inflation is nearing the Federal Reserve's target of 2 per cent. Benchmark 10-year government note yields were down over 2 basis points at 2.383 per cent, which was below the five-week high of 2.416 per cent set on Tuesday, according to Reuters data.

Stocks set to see action

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board become the latest to come out against the re-election of Bombardier Inc.'s Executive Chairman Pierre Beaudoin and the company's controversial executive compensation package. The country's largest pension fund manager said Wednesday it would withhold its vote for Beaudoin and two other directors as well as the pay package. Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and the British Columbia Investment Management Corp. also said they withheld their votes for the re-election of Beaudoin -- a member of the family that controls Bombardier -- and the pay package.

Toyota Motor Corp. forecast operating profit for the current year to slide by a fifth as Japan's biggest auto maker expects a hit from increased spending to push sales in its key U.S. market and from a stronger yen. Toyota, the world's second largest auto maker, sees operating profit at 1.6 trillion yen ($14.06-billion) in the year to March, below an average estimate of 2.3 trillion yen from 25 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, and less than the 1.99 trillion yen profit posted in the year just ended. Toyota and its group companies aim to sell 10.25 million vehicles globally in the year to March, largely unchanged from last year. Sales in North America, its single biggest market where it sells around 28 per cent of its global vehicle sales, are seen easing 0.6 per cent to 2.82 million. In New York, its shares were off 1.4 per cent in premarket trading.

The Public Sector Pension Investment Board, one of Canada's largest pension investment managers, said on Wednesday it planned to expand its London operations, hiring staff and boosting investments. PSP, which manages $125.8-billion across a range of markets, said it would increase staffing in London to 40 from 28 over the next 12 months. It opened the office in 2015.

Sun Life Financial Inc.'s first-quarter adjusted earnings, which the company released after the close of trading on Tuesday, amounted to 93 cents a share, failing to meet the Street's forecast of 99 cents. The company's quarterly dividend increase of 1.5 cents a common share also fell short of the expected 2-cent hike. In New York, its shares fell 1.7 per cent.

Time Inc., the publisher of Sports Illustrated and People magazines, on Wednesday slashed its dividend in an effort to bolster its balance sheet, and also reported a nearly 8-per-cent fall in quarterly revenue. The company lowered its quarterly dividend to 4 cents per share from 19 cents. Net loss attributable to Time Inc widened to $28-million, or 29 cents per share in the first quarter ended March 31, from $10-million, or 10 cents per year, a year earlier. Revenue fell to $636-million from $690-million. Its shares sank 9 per cent in premarket trading.

U.S. burger chain Wendy's Co. reported a 12-per-cent drop in quarterly profit on Wednesday, hurt by higher labor costs and lower revenue due to fewer company-owned restaurants. Net income fell to $22.3 million from $25.4 million in the first quarter ended April 2, the company said. On a per share basis, the company's profit remained unchanged at 9 cents per share due to fewer outstanding shares from a year earlier. Revenue fell to $285.8-million from $378.8-million a year earlier, mainly because the company sold more restaurants to franchisees. Its shares rose 4.7 per cent in premarket trading.

Halifax-based DHX Media Ltd. is buying the entertainment unit of Iconix Brand Group Inc for $345-million, adding the Peanuts comic strip and cartoon character Strawberry Shortcake to its roster of brands that includes "Bob the Builder" and "Teletubbies." Reuters reported in January that Iconix was exploring a sale of its majority stake in Peanuts Worldwide LLC, which owns the rights to cartoon strip characters Snoopy and Charlie Brown. Iconix was also looking to sell its Strawberry Shortcake brand, which is based on a character that rose to fame in the 1980s as a doll for young girls, Reuters reported in January. DHX Media will be buying an 80-per-cent stake in the Peanuts brand. The remaining 20 per cent will continue to be held by members of the family of Charles Schulz, the creator of the brand, DHX said on Wednesday.

Walt Disney Co. reported a smaller-then-expected rise in quarterly revenue and lower profit from its cable TV operation on Tuesday as it grapples with higher costs at its cash-cow sports network ESPN. Disney's quarterly profit beat analysts' estimates as the company benefited from the success of its latest fairytale adaptation "Beauty and the Beast" and growth in its theme park business However, operating income for the cable division fell nearly 3 per cent to $1.79-billion. Its shares fell 2.3 per cent in premarket trading.

Snap Inc. releases its first earnings report since going public. Analysts are expect an adjusted loss of about 19 cents a share based on 24 analyst estimates according to Yahoo Finance. its shares were down 1.3 per cent in premarket trading.

Beauty products maker Coty Inc. reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit and sales, helped by strong demand for brands such as Calvin Klein as well as for recently acquired brands ghd and Younique. Coty said revenue rose 6 per cent to $2.03-billion (U.S.) a constant currency basis in the third quarter after adjusting the year-ago period's sales for the acquisition. That beat the average analyst estimate of $1.94 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Excluding items, Coty earned 15 cents per share, beating the average analyst estimate by 2 cents. The company's shares were up 7.4 per cent in premarket trading.

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Economic News

U.S. import prices increased more than expected in April amid rising costs for petroleum products and a range of other goods, which could help boost domestic inflation, according to Reuters. The Labor Department said on Wednesday that import prices jumped 0.5 percent last month after an upwardly revised 0.1-per-cent gain in March. Import prices have now increased for five straight months. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast import prices increasing 0.2 per cent in April after a previously reported 0.2-per-cent drop in March. In the 12 months through April, import prices rose 4.1 per cent, slowing from March's 4.3-per-cent increase. Import prices shot up 4.7 per cent on a year-on-year basis in February, the biggest gain in five years.

The EIA Petroleum Status Report showed a bigger-than-expected decline in U.S. crude stocks. The government report showed U.S. commercial crude inventories fell by 5.2 million barrels for the week ended May 5. Analysts had forecast a decline of about 1.8 million barrels.

China's April producer price inflation cooled more than expected in a sign manufacturing activity may be losing momentum along with other sectors of the economy as domestic demand remains muted and the government cracks down on financial risks.  Prices for raw materials fell in April from the previous month, pressured by fears that domestic demand will not be strong enough to absorb surging factory output that rose the most in more than two years in March.  A renaissance in China's steel industry has been a major driver of the world's second-largest economy in recent quarters, helping generate the strongest profit growth in years and adding to a reflationary pulse across the global manufacturing sector.

The Trump administration may tear up the North American free-trade agreement and negotiate separate deals with Canada and Mexico, President Donald Trump's point-man on the file is warning. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross also served notice Tuesday that Washington will be "more aggressive" in fighting back against what it believes are unfair trade practices, such as slapping tariffs on imports.

With files from Reuters