TORONTO _ The Toronto stock market edged lower in early trading and the Canadian dollar showed a modest gain Wednesday.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 5.78 points at 14,896.66 shortly after the open.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.08 of a U.S. cent US at 79.03 cents US.
On the commodity markets, the May crude contract was up 29 cents at US$47.89 a barrel and the June bullion contract was up $13.40 at US$1,196.60 an ounce ahead.
In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average fell 138.19 points at 17,639.93 while the Nasdaq dropped 32.22 points at 4,868.66. The S&P 500 index slipped 13.99 points to 2,053.90.