Profit-takers moved in on Canadian markets Wednesday morning, while some unexpected good news on the oil front wasn’t enough to keep U.S. markets in the black.

At midday, Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite dropped 12.61 points or 0.15% to 8604.6, while the junior TSX Venture Exchange fell 0.83 points or 0.05% to 1582.53. In New York, the Dow industrial average slipped 3.03 points or 0.03% at 10074.37. The Nasdaq was up 17.62 points or 0.94% at 1887.49, while the S&P 500 index was down 0.49 or a point at 1109.57.

The Canadian dollar traded down 0.01 of a cent to US78.59¢.

In Toronto, the oil and gold sub-sectors were leading the TSX lower, a day after propelling the index to a triple-digit gain.

Oil stocks were off 0.70% as oil pulled back slightly after trading for more than US$50 a barrel in overnight trading. Light, sweet crude for November delivery was down three cents at US$49.87 in trading in New York.

Big decliners included Petro-Canada, off 0.966¢ or 1.44% to $65.80. The federal government has completed the sale of its remaining 19% stake in the Calgary oil giant. The company said the government sold its 49.4 million Petro-Canada common shares at $64.50 each, raising nearly $3.2 billion.

Also down were Suncor Energy, off 92¢ or 2.22% at $40.51 and Imperial Oil, down 45¢ or 0.69% at $64.95. Imperial confirmed Wednesday it plans to move its head office to Calgary from Toronto a year from now, affecting about 1,500 employees.

Gold shares on the TSX were down 0.56%. Financials were off 0.03%

In New York, equities received a temporary boost as oil supply concerns eased after both the Energy Department and the American Petroleum Institute reported a surprise rise in oil stocks for the week ended Sept. 24. Many analysts had been expecting a sizable drop in supplies following hurricane disruptions to output and shipments in the Gulf of Mexico.

In addition, the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 3.3% in the spring, the government reported Wednesday. That was significantly better than a previous estimate but still the weakest showing in more than a year. Even with the revision, the 3.3% growth rate was down significantly from the 4.5% rate of increase turned in during the first quarter as consumers, buffeted by rising energy prices, cut back on their spending in other areas during the spring.

In overseas markets, London’s FTSE 100 index gained 18.8 points at 4,577.9. Frankfurt’s DAX 30 gained 0.92% and the Paris CAC 40 was up 0.46%.

Tokyo shares declined for a ninth-straight session on concerns about a spike in global oil prices, while other smaller Asian markets closed mixed.

Tokyo’s Nikkei Stock Average of 225 issues dropped 29.47 points, or 0.27% to 10,786.10. The Nikkei has lost a total of 4.51% in the past nine sessions, including Tuesday’s fall of 43.75 points, or 0.40%.

Markets were closed for holidays in Hong Kong and South Korea.