Investors were presented with mixed signals on the health of the U.S. financial sector Wednesday as lender Wells Fargo reported better-than-expected earnings and boosted its dividend 10%, while U.S. consumer prices soared 1.1% in June, the fastest pace in a quarter century.

The consumer price index jumped 1.1% in June, the U.S. Labor Department said today, the largest monthly rise since June 1982. Excluding food and energy, it advanced 0.3%. Wall Street economists had expected a 0.7% rise in the headline and 0.2% core increase.

Here at home, Statistics Canada said current dollar manufacturing sales rose 2.7% to $51.4 billion. This was the largest increase since March 2007 and the fourth increase in five months.

Sales increased for 16 of 21 industries, representing 94% of total manufacturing sales.

However, despite these gains, May’s sales remained below year earlier levels and well below the peak of $53.1 billion in March 2007.

The Canadian dollar opened up 0.03 cent at US99.80¢.

Crude-oil prices continued to move lower. The front-month August contract was down by US$1.49 at US$137.25 a barrel early Wednesday ahead of weekly U.S. oil inventories data.

In other earnings news, Delta Air Lines Inc. swung to a US$1 billion loss in the second quarter despite a strong increase in sales, pushing its red ink to more than US$7 billion since the start of the year.

Overseas, the FTSE 100 index was down 1.7% early in the afternoon in London. The German DAX index was down 0.7% and the Paris CAC-40 declined one%.

China’s benchmark Shanghai composite index fell 2.7% to 2,705.87, while Japan’s Nikkei stock average closed flat, edging up 6.24 points to 12,760.80 after Tuesday’s regional selloff.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.2%.

Toronto stocks tumbled on Tuesday as oil prices fell and worries over the health of the U.S. financial system rocked the broader market.

The S&P/TSX composite index plunged 383.73 points, or 2.79%, to finish at 13,357.56.

Oil prices tumbled after U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke offered a pessimistic picture of the U.S. economy.

The financial services subgroup was down 2.3% as investors reacted to fallout from problems with U.S. government-sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index posted losses similar to the big board, falling 68.26 points, or 2.8%, to 2,310.08.

In New York, U.S. markets closed mixed with blue-chips falling while the tech-heavy Nadaq posted a slight gain.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 92.65 points or 0.84%, to 10,962.54, and S&P 500 dropped 13.39 points, or 1.09%, to1,214.91.

The Nasdaq rose 2.84 points, or 0.13%, to 2,215.71.

Tuesday close: Stocks plunge on U.S. banking worries